Pokémon Crystal: Johto Adventures
by Orangen
Summary: Crystal-based. Three teens leave home for different reasons, meeting up sporadically. They all just want to be the best they can, but with Team Rocket in the way, it won't be easy. Epilogue: Vs Corsola II!
1. Prologue: Vs Sneasel!

_Disclaimer:_ Okay, so not only is it bad enough that I don't own the copyrights to Emerald, but I also don't own the copyrights to Crystal. Additionally, any references I make to the Anime or Pokémon Special are copyrighted, too.

_Author's Note:_ Well, a nice new long project. I recently got back into Crystal, so… Yeah. Anyway, this'll probably end up taking a back seat to my Emerald fic, but it'll give me something to do when I feel like taking a break from it.

**Prologue: Vs Sneasel!**

Gin Shinu hastily burst into her bathroom, pulling her long gray hair out of her face. She lightly touched her swollen eye as she looked in her mirror. Her third fight that week… In a city as nice as Goldenrod, one could be surprised how often scuffles happened.

"You got in a fight again, didn't you…"

Gin jumped, knocking her knee on the sink. Cursing under her breath, she looked back into her mirror and saw the reflection of her older brother Kuro. She hadn't seen or heard him come in, but that wasn't surprising.

"Is anyone else home, Kuro?" she responded coolly.

"Just Midnight."

Gin sighed. Midnight was their father's Sneasel, and the Dark-type rarely moved out from her favorite shadowy hiding places in the living room.

"Good. Dad's got the late shift tonight, right?"

"Yeah."

Their father worked at Goldenrod's Department Store. He normally went in early, but on weekends he worked nights. Normally Gin found it annoying, as she had to ensure the garbage bins were out on the curb in his absence, but this time it was a relief.

"And Mizu and Umi?"

Kuro shrugged at the mention of their paternal grandparents. The couple was rarely home. Yet, the two always expected their grandchildren to be home when they _did_ return.

"Beats me. Said they were going to visit Dad. You know it's a lie, though."

Gin sighed as she took her hand off of her eye. Digging into one of the cabinets under the sink, she pulled out a rag, ran it under some cold water, and pressed it to her swollen skin. Frowning as it stung slightly, Gin looked back at Kuro's reflection. He brushed his black bangs out of his eyes and looked back at her.

"You didn't start it again, did you?"

"No," she snapped. "Some stupid kid just ran his mouth at me when I was leaving the Underground, saying I'd stepped on his foot or something. It ticked me off and…"

"But you hit first."

"Shut up, Kuro! I'm sick of this!"

Kuro blinked at his sister's glare. Gin had a temper, but he felt that this was more than just a tantrum.

"Of what?" he responded carefully.

"Of everything!" Gin lashed. "I'm sick of getting blamed for everything, and of Dad never being home, and of Umi's constant nagging! You know ever since Mom died, Umi's been trying to turn me into a perfect little doll!"

"You're acting spoiled, Gin," Kuro muttered.

"I am not! Aren't you tired of it too?" Gin demanded. "With you it's about cutting your hair, or getting rid of that old red trench coat you always wear, or calling you lazy."

Kuro barely flinched. "Think before you speak for once. Did you ever think that maybe they're just trying to calm you down?"

"You know, you really have a habit of pouring oil on the fire," Gin retorted.

Stomping out of her bathroom, Gin shoved Kuro as she went to her dresser. She rifled through it and eventually caught sight of a blue uniform.

"Hey, Kuro, you don't care about this anymore, do you?"

She held up the collared shirt, and Kuro simply shook his head. Gin slowly went back over to him.

"Look, don't tell Dad, okay?"

"About what?"

"I'm _leaving_. I told you, I can't stand it here."

Kuro shook his head again. "Don't be stupid."

"I'm not being stupid!" she insisted. "Please, Kuro?"

A pause, and then he responded, "All right."

"Thanks."

There was silence for a few moments. Gin sighed as Kuro rested his hand on her shoulder.

"Gin. Don't hurt yourself, okay?"

"I'm not an idiot!" Gin snapped. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll send you a text message every so often so you can be a mother hen."

Kuro grinned. "I don't care what you do, as long as you don't make me do anything about it."

"You bum!" Laughing, Gin pushed her brother out of her room. "That'll be the only thing I'll miss! Now go away so I can change."

- - -

"Midnight."

The Sneasel, as usual, had been curled up behind the couch. Stretching, she stepped out and looked up curiously. Gin was casually leaning against the TV and straightening the tie of Kuro's old school uniform.

"Let's go."

"Snea?" Midnight asked hesitantly.

"Don't give me that." Gin looked impatiently at the Pokémon. "Dad never even pays you much attention anymore. Not since Mizu convinced him to buy that Delibird."

"Sel…" Midnight looked down, folding her claws behind her back.

"That's right," Gin answered. "Now don't worry about anything. Kuro's covering for us."

Midnight looked back up and nodded. Grinning, Gin pulled a Pokéball from her pocket and recalled the Dark-type.

"All right, come on," she whispered. "We're outta here."


	2. Chapter One: Vs Corsola!

_Author's Note_: Long time, no update, eh?

Anyway, not much to say about this chapter, other than there are a lot of section breaks.

**Chapter One: Vs Corsola!**

"Kuro."

The long-haired boy raised an eyebrow as Umi entered the house, closely followed by her husband and son. Mizu quickly lowered his wife into one of the kitchen chairs, and then the old woman turned to her grandson again.

"Is your sister home?" she said, forcing a smile.

"In the shower," Kuro shrugged.

There was a moment of silence, during which the faint sound of running water could be heard from upstairs. Nodding satisfactorily, Umi took her long white hair out of its ponytail.

"All right then. Go get her when she's done," Umi ordered. "Now, Kaze, be a dear and help me with my bag, will you?"

"Yes, mother."

The gray-haired man swiftly took Umi's shopping bag. It clearly wasn't very heavy, but Umi must have been having a tired (or stubborn) moment. She then turned to Mizu.

"Mizu, can you check on Politoed and Vaporeon's water?"

"Yes, Umi."

Mizu headed upstairs slowly and carefully. The couple generally kept their two Pokémon in a large aquarium that occupied a whole wall in their bedroom, and the water needed changing often enough. Shrugging, Kuro headed upstairs as well.

"Where are you going, Kuro?" Umi frowned. "Isn't the water still running?"

"To my room," he muttered.

Moments later, he arrived in front of Gin's room. Pausing, he twisted the knob, and then headed into the bathroom. He turned off the shower, sighing. Gin had only been gone for about half an hour, and hopefully the short time span did _not_ mean that she had run into anyone… or anything.

"Mis…"

Suddenly, his Misdreavus was floating near his shoulder. She looked at him for a long moment, eyes narrowed slightly. Kuro turned away slowly.

"Yeah, Gin's being rash. Am I too for helping her, Misdreavus?"

"Misdrea…" She sighed and began to fade away.

"Wait," Kuro mumbled.

"Vus?"

Misdreavus reappeared. Closing his eyes, Kuro rested his hands on the sink.

"I just hope… she doesn't do anything foolish."

- - -

"Hey! You still do haircuts this late, right?"

Gin had once again climbed through the small trap door leading to Goldenrod's Underground, and quickly found herself at the haircut shop. It was nearly ten o'clock, but most of the Underground's shops were still lit up. The stylist leaned somewhat tiredly over the counter as he addressed her.

"O'course I do, but I ain't sure why you'd want me to… That'll be three hundred Poké, um… Miss?"

She grinned as the young man hesitated over what to call her. Kuro's uniform fit her fairly well, and she'd heard on multiple occasions that her facial features weren't exactly feminine.

"Yes sir," Gin replied, handing a few bills to the stylist. "I'll just tell you when to stop cutting, okay?"

"If you say so," he replied warily, and slowly got to work.

- - -

"Professor Elm, you really shouldn't be up so late, you know."

While the lights in the rest of New Bark Town were out, Professor Elm's research lab was still lit up. A groggy Suishou Koi yawned as he approached the young professor, who was hastily scrawling a few notes on a sheet of paper—odd, as he usually never left his laptop. Professor Elm responded after a moment, but didn't look up.

"Neither should you, Suishou. I'll be in bed in a few minutes; I'm just collecting a few things for tomorrow."

"I'll…" Suishou stifled another yawn. "I'll bring you a glass of tea, then, for while you're working."

"Thanks," Professor Elm called as his lab assistant wandered away. "Just go on to bed after that, all right?"

"Yes, sir."

- - -

"_Professor Elm of New Bark Town claims to be studying several recently discovered Pokémon…"_

The stylist clicked off the radio news report. It was now early morning, and Gin was leaning against the wall in one of the small, somewhat uncomfortable stools in front of the salon, half-asleep. She'd thrown in a few extra Poké, and the stylist had let her stay in front of the salon for the night.

Gin carefully looked at her reflection in one of the tall mirrors near the salon. Her hair was now just at shoulder-length, and her still unruly bangs fell across her forehead. She grinned; the haircut actually made her look fairly ambiguous.

"Good to see you like the cut, miss," the stylist commented, still looking slightly irked about using the term. "So, wasn't the news interesting?"

"Huh?" Gin looked up. "Oh, yeah…"

The man laughed. "Did I interrupt you thinking about it? Well, have a good one…"

Gin nodded and headed up through the trapdoor of the Underground. She sighed as she thought about the report; sure, she had Midnight, but it would still be nice to have another Pokémon. Even though, in retrospect, these "new" Pokémon could be some bland, normal ones.

Still, Professor Elm was supposed to be Johto's top Pokémon researcher. It would at least be worth a trip to see if he could get her a Pokedex.

"Hey, Midnight…" Gin grinned as she decided to release the Sneasel.

"Snea?" Midnight asked curiously. Despite her original hesitance, Midnight had been more than eager to leave once they'd actually gotten out of the house.

"Race you to the Gatehouse?"

"Sel!"

As Midnight nodded, the pair quickly dashed out of the Underground's entrance…

- - -

"Professor Elm?"

Suishou brushed a piece of his long, blonde-highlighted red hair out of his face as he stood up from the filing cabinet. He'd just finished filing a series of reports on Pokémon evolution for the professor. However, Professor Elm was frantically typing away at his laptop, and apparently wasn't listening…

"Professor?" Suishou repeated. "I'm finished. Shouldn't you be taking a break from that?"

"Oh, no, Suishou," Professor Elm finally replied, sounding excited. "Don't worry. I've almost got this rough draft finished for my upcoming conference—you know, the one I called after the news this morning? So, if you don't mind, could you go ahead and start something for lunch? I should have this completed by the time you're ready."

"Y-yes, Professor," Suishou mumbled, turning towards the stairs in the back of the lab. As he headed upstairs, he couldn't help but worry; when Professor Elm was as caught up in his research as he was now, he sometimes forgot to eat.

After arriving in the kitchen, Suishou managed to unearth a pot from one of the cluttered cabinets. He usually kept them neater, since the professor was too busy to do so, and Suishou was generally in charge of a portion of the lab work and the majority of the cleaning. Lately, however, Professor Elm had had so much work to do that both of them had to work almost all hours.

The red-haired boy quickly filled the pot up with water and placed it on the stove to boil. Then he tiredly leaned against the cabinets and let his mind wander. Suishou had basically been living in the lab for the past ten years, and actually helping out for the last six. He only had a few vague memories of life before that, but then again, he _had_ only been five years old at the time.

Well, he did have one picture as a reminder… There was a small framed picture in his bedroom of himself at age four, with a somewhat tall and slim blonde woman holding him in her arms—his mother. Ai Koi had apparently been good friends with Professor Elm; in fact, he claimed to have taken the picture. But then, just under a year after the picture was taken, she left her son with the professor, deciding that she wanted "more excitement" in her life and would eventually return the favor.

As if ten years of no communication could be considered retribution.

"Corso—la!"

A mischievous cry from near Suishou's feet snapped him out of his thoughts. Looking down, he saw his Corsola perched near him.

"What is it, Coro—" He cut himself off as he followed her eyes to the stove, realizing that the water was starting to boil over. "Oh, no! I forgot the Ramen!"

Coro giggled as she watched her owner frantically add the noodles and adjust the stove's temperature…

- - -

"All contest participants, please report to the park's square! Sign-ups are now complete! I repeat, all—"

Gin smirked as the voice screeched over the National Park's PA system. She'd arrived at the park's entrance just in time to sign up for the tri-weekly Bug-Catching Contest. Her figuring was that the park sort of on the way to New Bark Town anyway. Plus, she'd never been able to participate, and thought the challenge could be fun.

"—square! Sign-ups are now—"

As the voice droned one last warning, Gin grinned at Midnight, and the pair hurried out of the small building.


	3. Chapter Two: Vs Scyther!

_Author's Notes_: I actually had this chapter ready a little while ago, but I just never got around to editing it… Oh well, here it is.

**Chapter Two: Vs Scyther!**

"That concludes the rules. You have twenty minutes—go!"

Gin instantly parted through the crowd of participants. Grinning, she and Midnight ducked into the thick grass and shrubbery of the National Park's square. However, as she did so, she couldn't help getting a bit jealous… Most of the other challengers looked younger than her, but had obviously well raised Pokémon like Parasect and Ampharos.

"Sel!"

Midnight tugged at Gin's leg and pointed her other claw to the left. Squinting, she saw a quick flash of green and a thin pair of blades, and her grin turned into a confident smirk.

"Sneak up on it with Agility and then slow it down with Icy Wind," Gin whispered.

Nodding, Midnight dashed away, easily cutting her way through the grass. Gin slowly proceeded after her through the tangles. Soon, she caught sight of Midnight cornering the giant Scyther against the park fence. The smaller Pokémon narrowed her eyes as a chilling breeze blew by, and a thin layer of ice coated the ground, freezing down the Scyther's feet to the grass. Thrashing its blade forward, it tried to strike, but Midnight easily dodged its slowed reflexes.

"All right, now use Faint Attack!" Gin called.

Midnight dashed forward again, almost too quickly to be seen. Crashing into the bug's torso, she dashed back just as quickly as it cried out in frustration.

"That should do it…" Gin muttered, enlarging the provided Pokéball.

She tossed it at the Scyther—it shook violently—and finally it clicked shut. Eagerly, she bent down to pick it up, her smirk growing.

"My first capture… Take _that_, Umi."

- - -

Sighing, Suishou added one of the professor's most recent evolution reports into the appropriate filing cabinet in one of the lab's back rooms. It featured three of the Pokémon they were currently studying—Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile. The main theme of it seemed to be that, despite the equal amounts of attention they were getting, Cyndaquil seemed to be the closest to preparing for evolution.

"Cor!"

Coro jumped into the room, three Pokéballs perched on her back. She tipped forward and let them roll onto the floor rather ungracefully.

"Coro…" Suishou groaned. "I know I have to take them out, but did you have to drop them like that?"

"Sola!" she grinned, nodding.

"Okay, I'm going."

Smiling, he patted his Pokémon briefly on the head before picking up the three Pokéballs she'd dropped. Cyndaquil, Chikorita, and Totodile always went out for walks at the same time every day, after all…

- - -

"Time's up! All contestants should be reporting to the east lobby!"

Gin leaned against the wall of the aforementioned lobby as the announcement blared over the PA system. The last couple of contestants entered hastily, and the judge clicked off his microphone. He silently checked the sign-in sheet, and then looked back up.

"All right," he commanded. "Each of you, release your captures for ranking."

There was a collective click and flash as each bug Pokémon popped out of its Pokéball. Gin grinned as she looked around, confident despite her Scyther's mischievous look. Most of the other challengers had caught Pokémon like Kakuna and Venonat, but she did notice a large Beedrill and a delicate Butterfree next to a pair of proud kids.

"Hm… Third and second place go to entrant six's Butterfree and entrant two's Beedrill, respectively!"

The two boys cheered as the Beedrill and Butterfree looped through the air victoriously. The judge carefully appraised the remaining trainers, dragging out the announcement of the winner.

"First place goes to…Entrant twenty's Scyther!"

_What other punk caught a Scyther?_ Gin cracked her knuckles as she looked around, but then realized something. _Wait… __**I'm**__ entrant twenty!_

A victorious smirk grew on her lips. Less than twenty-four hours after running away, and she'd gotten a hair cut, wasn't in trouble (yet, anyway), and had won a contest. This being away from home thing was definitely looking up.

Suddenly, she felt the flat side of her Scyther's blade smack the back of her head. Rubbing the sore spot, she glared slightly.

"What was that for?" Gin demanded.

She followed the direction that the Scyther was pointing in until she noticed that the three winning prizes were set on the counter. Six and Two were claiming their prizes, and Gin hastily went to the counter to get hers. A small, sun-shaped stone sat on the "first place" card, and Gin frowned as she pocketed it.

"A Sun Stone," the judge explained as Gin looked up. "Useful for some Pokémon evolutions. Gloom's one of 'em."

"Er… right." Gin withdrew her Scyther, and forced a nod as she turned away. She slowly grinned again as she left the building, feeling the wind blow…

- - -

"Oh, Suishou, I've got a favor to ask before you leave."

"Yes?"

Suishou paused at the door of the lab as Professor Elm emerged from one of the side rooms. The professor sighed as he addressed Suishou.

"You remember Mr. Pokémon, right? Haven't I taken you there once or twice?"

"Um… Oh! You mean that man who lives past Cherrygrove! Right?" Suishou smiled in recognition.

"Yes, good," Professor Elm nodded. "Well, he just called to say he's literally dug something interesting up, but I'm working on a second report for my press conference, so… Do you think you could go while you're walking the Pokémon?"

"Of course!" Suishou's smile widened. "I'll be back as soon as possible!"

As the redhead eagerly opened the door to the lab and left, the professor couldn't help catching his infectious smile. Professor Elm shook his head slightly.

"Just be careful, please…" he said to the closed door, and then turned back to his computer room.

- - -

"Ruins of Alph. Violet City. Ruins of Alph. Violet City…"

Gin was currently standing at the gate house of the aforementioned tourist haven, trying to decide whether to cut through there or go on to Violet. Violet would be faster, but knowing her father's line of thinking, it would be the first place he would send his Pokémon out to look for her—he always did that when she stayed out too late. His Delibird wasn't too scary (heck, it barely even knew how to fly), but his Dodrio, on the other hand…

Sighing, Gin pushed through the gate and into the ruin site. A cool breeze blew her hair back and chilled her ears, but anything was better than running into that Dodrio, after all.

She just had to hope that she didn't run into any trouble…


	4. Chapter Three: Vs Unown!

_Author's Note_: Hm… A PokéSpecial reference, a mildly important character, and a cult of angry alphabet ciphers all in one chapter? Gasp.

Anyway, that aside, this is a much longer chapter.

**Chapter Three: Vs Unown!**

Gin whistled slightly, resisting the urge to laugh. She'd effectively woven her way through a couple of tourist groups since she'd entered the Ruins of Alph, and all of them had eventually gotten scared at Ruins' "creepy atmosphere" and left.

Creepy atmosphere, her left foot. The Ruins of Alph merely consisted of a few interconnected "puzzle rooms," and one large main chamber separate from those. The puzzles looked to be sliding tablets of ancient Pokémon, and the visiting chamber was no more than a large chamber with similar statues.

Gin then sighed. There wasn't even anything that interesting in the Ruins to start with, and she'd really only been amused at how many of the aforementioned tourists had mistaken her for a man.

Her fault, considering, but then again, that had been the point.

Frowning, she decided to hurry on up and cut through to Route 31. She could get there easily enough by going through the south end of the Ruins, and then just slipping into the forested area south of Violet. Before Gin managed to even get to Ruins' southern exit, however, she crashed into a _something_ and landed in a rather ungraceful sitting position. She quickly glared at a young purple-haired boy in green clothing, who had apparently just landed in the same position Gin had.

"Hey, watch it!" Gin said testily, dusting herself off as she rose to her feet.

"I-I'm sorry," the boy said off-handedly, slowly lifting himself to his knees and standing up. "I'm, just, you see… I got separated from the research group I was in. I think they might have left…"

"Well, that's just careful of you," Gin rolled her eyes. "Anyway, kid, this leads to—"

"Kid?" The boy suddenly looked surprisingly angry, but he still looked childish as well. "My name's Bugsy and I'm the Gym Leader of Azalea Town!"

"Oh, really? I've heard of you before," Gin raised an eyebrow. "What're you out _here_ for, then? And Gin Shinu, by the way."

Bugsy shook her hand, and then grinned sheepishly. "Well, like I said, I'm in a research group. There's a team from Azalea looking into the Ruins, so I wanted to come along."

"Well, you what do you do?" Gin raised her other eyebrow.

Bugsy poked his index fingers together. "You see, we're investigating the patterns on the walls. I'm sure you've seen—"

"You mean those letter symbols," Gin interrupted. "Yeah. Why?"

"Here, let me show you!"

Bugsy wrapped his skinny hand around Gin's wrist and dragged her quickly behind him with a surprising amount of strength. Before Gin could protest, they'd arrived at one of the puzzle chambers, and Bugsy had pulled her inside.

The musty stone chamber was lit with a few torches. A large, similarly stone table sat in the middle, with sliding tiles on it. Along the wall, vaguely letter-shaped symbols formed incomprehensible strings of gibberish.

"What's so great about this?" Gin questioned dubiously.

"Well…" Bugsy scratched the back of his neck. "We're thinking that the letters on the wall have something to do with the statues in the main chamber."

"What about this table then?"

Gin hastily stepped over to the sliding puzzle. Bugsy shifted slightly as Gin blew the dust off the table.

"We thought that at first, but we haven't been able to solve it yet," he replied embarrassedly. "We, uh… haven't really tried in a while, though."

"It can't be _that_ hard," Gin frowned. "I'll do it. Just go decode some letters or something while I do this."

"Um… Okay," Bugsy answered, still sounding uncomfortable.

Sighing impatiently, Gin leaned over the table, inspecting the tiles. Squinting, she made out some round shapes indented into some of them, while others had rounded edges or sharper-shaped indents. As she experimentally set the rounded-edged tiles into the corners of the table, she heard Bugsy carefully running his fingers over the wall.

Gin frowned. She'd just laid out what looked like a decent border, and it was slightly shell-shaped. Looking back at the remaining tiles, she decided that the sharper shapes had to be claws, and the circles had to be eyes.

Round shell… Claws… Gin suddenly grinned. It had to be…

"Hey, Bugsy!" Gin called over her shoulder, setting the last tile into place. "This puzzle's a Kabuto!"

"You solved it?" Bugsy cried, sounding half shocked and half excited.

Turning away from the wall, he dashed towards her as the tile fit into the puzzle with a sharp click. As Bugsy leaned around Gin for a better look, one of the letters on the wall slowly peeled away…

- - -

Suishou hummed slightly as he went down the familiar path to Cherrygrove City. This was about how far he normally took Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile on their daily walks, but if he had to go past the small town to Mr. Pokémon's… It was probably best to recall them. He'd only been a couple of times, and the Pokémon hadn't been there at all.

"All right, guys," Suishou smiled, brushing a piece of his hair over his shoulder. "Sorry, but…"

He withdrew the three of them, starting with Totodile. He and Cyndaquil merely sighed quietly, but Chikorita hung her head slightly. Suishou sighed as well—Chikorita seemed to be the most attached to him of the three, and he didn't like having to put her back in her Pokéball.

"What would Professor Elm say if I lost you?" Suishou said. "Come on. I just don't want anything to happen."

Chikorita blinked, but let him withdraw her anyway. Suishou frowned gently as he put the three Pokéballs back onto his belt and strolled into the city. It had been a little while since he'd gotten to see the cherry blossom trees in bloom—they were just now blooming again after the winter. He soon smiled again; seeing the tiny buds always cheered him up.

"Oh, pardon!"

Suishou gasped as the wind was knocked out of him. He stumbled backwards but stayed on his feet, and he shook his head. When his eyes refocused, he saw a woman looking curiously at him, twirling a piece of her long, wavy blond hair around her finger and tugging at her purple jacket.

"Oh! I'm, uh, sorry," Suishou rushed, truly apologetically. "I wasn't watching where…"

"No, darling, it's my fault," the woman drawled slightly, and Suishou felt an odd feeling in his stomach. She then cocked her head and seemed to be studying him. "Oh, but you really are pretty. What's your name, dear?"

"Um," Suishou replied awkwardly—he wasn't used to the scrutinizing yet complimenting look she was giving him. "Suishou Koi, ma'am…"

"Hm…" The woman tapped her chin thoughtfully. "That reminds me—I had a child named Suishou. But I had a son…"

Suishou blushed. He really looked that much like a girl? Then he blinked. What had she just said?

"Had?" he repeated carefully, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Oh, yes, darling," the woman winked. "You see, I was having so much trouble keeping up with him, so an acquaintance offered to take care of him for me so I could work full-time. You understand, yes?"

A lump formed in Suishou's throat, and he struggled to answer, "Yes, of course. How, um, long ago—"

"I'd say about nine… no, ten years, I think," the woman frowned. "I can never keep track. But you'll have to excuse me, darling; I'm almost late to work. I work in Violet, you see."

"Yes, well, good luck getting there," Suishou forced.

"And you're so polite," the woman drawled again, smiling as if she was looking a young child instead of a teenager. "Such a pleasure talking to you. It would be _so_ fabulous if we were to run into each other again."

With that, she held on to the hem of her pink skirt as she curtsied, and then dashed away. Suishou staggered and quickly put his hand out on the nearest cherry blossom tree for support. He was sure he knew what the feeling in the pit of his stomach had been from now.

For he was sure that in the first time in ten years, he'd just run into his mother.

- - -

"What the heck?"

Gin shouted aloud as the letters started peeling off the walls and hovering lazily around her and Bugsy. The younger teen nervously clutched onto Gin's arm as the round midsections of the creatures opened to reveal eyes. Gin shot him a glare.

"Well? What are they?" she demanded more than asked.

"I…" Bugsy stammered. "I think I've read about this before… They're Pokémon!"

"That's ridi—" Gin started to snap.

She was cut off, however, when one of the Pokémon sleepily opened its eyes and started to glow. Blue-tinted energy shot out from around it, and Gin and Bugsy instinctively dodged in opposite directions.

"Un…" it murmured.

"Well, we only have one choice here," Gin grinned, reaching for her Pokéballs. Bugsy's eyes widened as Gin released her two Pokémon. "Midnight! Scy…" She paused. "Theriolt! Come on!"

The Sneasel and Scyther appeared on either side of Gin. Bugsy tried to grin as well, having caught her drift, but he didn't look very convincing. He reached for one of his Pokéballs as well.

"Scyther, help them out," he cried.

A second, smaller Scyther appeared beside Bugsy, and Gin's grin deepened into a smirk. They were getting surrounded, but their trio of Pokémon looked like they could handle themselves easily enough. There were a lot of the letter-like Pokémon, sure, but they looked somewhat frail.

"Midnight, Fury Swipes, and Theriolt, use Fury Cutter," Gin called.

"You use Fury Swipes too, Scyther!" Bugsy added.

As the three Pokémon charged forward, the surrounding Pokémon simultaneously glowed in various colors. Theriolt and Scyther angled their blades slightly to strike multiple opponents, and Midnight's claws glinted. Just as they almost collided, there was a dull mutter of "Un… own!"

The energy blast filled the room, and Gin and Bugsy flinched and covered their eyes. Gin opened her eyes first, and burst into laughter as she poked Bugsy. At least five or six of the Unown had fallen to the floor of the chamber, several others had scratches, and a few of them looked liked they'd been hit by "friendly fire," so to speak. Midnight, Theriolt, and Scyther were still standing, but they were out of breath and had a few bruises.

"Are we…?" Bugsy started to ask.

Gin shook her head. "Best to get all of them. Let's use a combined Slash, guys!"

The three Pokémon leapt forward again. Several of the less-wounded Unown tried to attack again, but in vain—Midnight easily took care of two of them, while Theriolt and Scyther took down the rest of them.

"Come on, let's get outta here," Gin said suddenly, roughly grabbing Bugsy by the wrist and withdrawing her Pokémon.

"What?" Bugsy gasped slightly, stumbling behind her and struggling to withdraw his own Scyther. "What are you—"

"Before they get back up," Gin grunted. "Don't want to have to bother again."

By now, they'd arrived outside of the puzzle chamber. Bugsy trailed a few feet behind her, pausing before he spoke again.

"So, um," he started. "Do you think that solving the puzzle had anything to do with…"

Gin shrugged disinterestedly. "Don't know, don't care. If you hook up with that research group again, you'd at least have something to look into."

Bugsy smiled slightly. "I guess. Hey, Gin, where are you going now?"

"I'm headed to New Bark," she responded, turning her head away from him. "I'll probably end up in Azalea in a few weeks. See you."

Gin abruptly folded her arms across her chest and walked briskly away from the younger boy. Bugsy blinked, startled.

"Wait, what…" Bugsy shook his head; Gin was already several feet away. "Um, bye, Gin!"

Gin raised a hand in acknowledgement, and when Bugsy blinked, she was gone.


	5. Chapter Four: Vs Caterpie!

_Author's Note_: And finally… Gin and Suishou end up in the same place. (gasp) This chapter's a bit on the short side, though.

**Chapter Four: Vs Caterpie!**

Gin ducked under another low-hanging tree branch as she cut through the outskirts of Violet. The city really wasn't that large, she frowned, so it wouldn't be long before she was on her way to Cherrygrove—and therefore, New Bark Town.

Eventually, after a few detours and a lot of ducking, Gin stepped onto a dirt pathway. Grinning, she paused for a moment and rested her hand on one of the few remaining nearby trees. As she caught her breath, a strange crawly feeling went up her arm.

Raising her elbow slightly, Gin frowned again when she found herself eye-to-eye with a rather large Caterpie. It blinked at her curiously for a moment, and she glared in response.

"What?" she asked it crossly.

"Pie!" it squeaked.

The Caterpie hurriedly crawled back down her arm and hand and onto the tree, trailing a typical Caterpie thread behind it. Gin scowled, peeling the sticky string off the sleeve of her uniform.

"Why I oughtta… No, it's not worth it," Gun muttered, turning back around. "I'm wasting my time here."

Folding her arms over her chest, Gin dug the toes of her shoes into the dirt as she followed the trail south.

- - -

"Hey, have you ever seen that kid around here before?"

"He's awfully cute. I wonder what's wrong with him, though."

"That's what I was thinking…"

Suishou wobbled slightly, arms tightly clutched around his stomach as he made the partially-familiar walk through Cherrygrove to the north. He was now officially glad he'd withdrawn the Pokémon earlier. Feeling a bit faint and strangely nauseous after running into that woman earlier, his staggering was starting to draw attention.

He breathed in deeply, the northern edge of the city almost in sight. It was funny in a way. He'd been out here a couple of times before, and despite the fact that all of his visits to Mr. Pokémon had been with Professor Elm, he really should have been able to handle the trip more easily than he currently was.

Still, this errand was important to the Professor. Suishou shook himself mentally. He'd taken the errand, after all, and he'd complete it, if only for Professor Elm.

With that, he steeled himself, and, pressing his arms ever more tightly over his stomach, Suishou raised his chin and started down the narrow dirt trail to the north.

- - -

"Gyarados? No, too pretty. Dragonair, ugh…"

Gin had long ago grown bored with the plain, repetitive landscape between Violet and Cherrygrove, and was trying to name Pokémon in the clouds. As idiotic and childish as it made her feel, it was actually helping pass the time. A bit, anyway.

Droning a low melody under her breath, Gin folded her hands behind her head and stared at the sky again. A slightly round cloud floated above her head, with a few more puffy spots around the edges.

"Ditto," she groaned. "Maybe Chinchou at best."

She then moved to another cloud as she strode forward, her eyes focusing on the rounded top and narrowed pieces beneath it. It almost looked like a Charmander torso, but then again, it could be a Treecko…

Caught up in the vaguely lizard-shaped cloud, she ran into something, and a soft "oof" escaped her lips. Trying to avoid the same awkward fall she'd had with Bugsy, Gin merely stumbled backwards a bit, and after holding her arms out for balance, Gin managed to regain her stance.

However, she'd run into another skinny little boy, and he wasn't nearly as lucky as she had been. With a surprised cry, his arms flailed out, and he landed hard in a sitting position, much like Gin herself had before. His hands hit the ground first, as if to lighten his fall, and his large blue eyes welled up slightly—he'd probably skinned his palms.

"Oh, geez. Um…"

Shaking her head and mumbling under her breath, Gin knelt down and quickly grabbed the boy by the wrists. He gulped nervously as Gin roughly turned his hands over to inspect them. Just above his wrists and below his fingers, there were a few scratches and a tiny amount of blood, but apart from that, he looked totally fine.

"You're fine," Gin said coolly, folding the boy's arms over his knees, which he'd unconsciously raised to his chest. "Sorry. Gotta be on my way."

"W-wait," the boy whimpered, almost too softly to be heard. As Gin dubiously turned around, he looked up at her hesitantly and went on. "Are you going to New Bark Town? I-I can help you… if you want."

"I know how to get to New Bark Town," Gin answered. "Besides, no offense, but you getting hurt really isn't any of my concern. It's just your hands that got hurt. You can still walk."

"I… I'm sorry…"

"What the heck are you apologizing for? Whatever. I'm leaving."

"Wait!"

At his second plea, Gin sighed, rubbed her temples, and turned around again. The boy raised himself to his knees, albeit with a little effort as he couldn't use his hands, and smiled slowly at her. There was a nagging feeling in Gin's stomach as she looked at him—she didn't want to waste any more time than she already had, and yet, somehow she couldn't just leave him like that.

"I know Professor Elm," the boy elaborated. "So… I guess I could help you, if you want…"

"You said that before, too!" Gin sulked, instantly snapping back around. "And you got yourself up. But…"

She glanced over her shoulder at him. He blinked curiously, but still looked a bit unsteady on his feet. Gin sighed.

"But I guess I can go with you for a few minutes first. Where is it that you need to go?"

A huge grin spread over the boy's face as Gin grudgingly draped his arm over her shoulder, ducking quite a bit to get down to his height level. As she steadied herself and the boy, Gin brushed off the feeling that she had no Celebi-forsaken idea what she was getting herself into…


	6. Chapter Five: Vs Pidgey!

_Author's Note_: Eh… Another somewhat short chapter. However, you'll note there's a slight variation from the normal Crystal plot here.

**Chapter Five: Vs Pidgey!**

"Mr. Pokémon? _Please_ tell me that's not his actual surname."

"Well, um… I never really… asked, or anything."

"Oh, great."

For the past several minutes, Suishou had been carefully giving Gin directions as she supported him to Mr. Pokémon's house. The situation still felt a bit ridiculous to her, but anything to help her pull a few strings with Professor Elm would definitely help. Besides, the look of seriousness on Suishou's face was almost comical, as if he was instructing her on something groundbreaking.

"Okay, just go straight here, and you'll be there in a few minutes!" Suishou said brightly as the path branched.

Gin silently ducked both her and Suishou under a tree branch as they went forward. His hand clenched instinctively around her shoulder as they ducked several more times. Was he that nervous, or was Gin just that imposing?

Eventually the pair reached a small, neatly-trimmed clearing. A tiny brick cottage sat above a slight slope, and a cliché cloud of smoke puffed out of the obligatory chimney. The wooden door was slightly ajar, so Gin didn't bother knocking, despite Suishou's surprised look.

"Mr. Pokémon?" Suishou called, slowly letting go of Gin's shoulder and looking around. "S-sorry to just come in, but…"

"Ah, Suishou, glad you made it! Don't worry about that, now!"

A middle-aged man in a pinstriped suit hastily entered the apparent living room Gin and Suishou had just came into from a door in the back—Gin squinted and noted it led to a kitchen. Mr. Pokémon sheepishly scratched the back of his neck as he glanced at Suishou.

"The professor did tell me you were coming, and… Oh, he didn't tell me you were bringing company."

Suishou grinned somewhat embarrassedly and clasped his hands together. "Well, um…"

"Wait, me?" Gin asked almost lazily. "Yeah, I'm not really sure why I'm here either, but if it's on the way to New Bark Town… Then why not?"

Mr. Pokémon laughed nervously. "Charming. Well, Suishou, best not keep you waiting. Here's what I emailed Elm about."

The man shuffled through a small box and quickly pulled out what appeared to be a large, spiral-shaped rock. Suishou took it in his hands with a slight gasp, stumbling back a bit from the weight.

"So… What exactly is that?" Gin asked, glancing at the stone dubiously.

"Well," Mr. Pokémon started eagerly. "See how it looks kind of like a shell? If you tap the top of it…" He demonstrated, and there was a slightly hollow sound. "See, it sounds like there's a bit of a gap between the spiral and the rock, as if it actually was once a shell. It's probably a fossil, and if I'm right, Professor Elm will know what to do with it."

"Right!" Suishou nodded enthusiastically. "He just finished up studying Pokémon eggs, see, and he was wondering if Pokémon could come from fossils too."

Mr. Pokémon chuckled. "Yes, he did mention that in his email. Well, I better let you hurry on back. Say hello to him for me!"

"Okay!" Suishou grinned as he waved at Mr. Pokémon. "Bye!"

"Oy," Gin muttered, watching the man turn back into his kitchen. "Is that all?"

"What do you mean, all?" Suishou asked anxiously as he looked at Gin.

"Never mind," Gin sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "So, I suppose we should take him up on that 'hurrying back,' yes?"

"Ah! Of course!" Suishou cried.

With that, the red-head staggered forward, as he tried to walk unsteadily and carry the fossil at the same time. Gin barely suppressed a laugh as she nearly yanked the fossil from him.

"I'm taking that, kiddo. You can hardly even walk at the moment. Now hurry up and get me to New Bark Town, savvy?"

"Sa—I mean, yeah!"

Suishou's eyes focused sharply again, and Gin rolled her eyes as she followed him out.

* * *

"Hey, hey, the trees always bloom like this?"

"No, only this time of year."

Suishou looked uncomfortably up at the cherry blossom trees at the edge of Cherrygrove. Gin shifted the fossil to her other arm and looked at Suishou curiously.

"What's the deal?" she asked, a barely audible tinge of curiosity in her hasty question.

"Nothing," Suishou responded instinctively, forcing the memory of the blonde woman out of his head.

A petal from one of the trees landed on his forehead as he started walking forward again. As he brushed it off, a Pidgey landed near his feet and pecked at it inquisitively, and then chirped at him. Gin blinked as she stepped ahead of him slightly, looking over her shoulder at the Flying-type.

"All Pokémon like you that much?"

"I… I don't know," Suishou replied, blushing as the Pidgey chirped again and flew away.

"Whatever," Gin shrugged. "Let's just get there already."

"Right!" Suishou broadened his steps in an attempt to catch back up to Gin's long stride. "Oh, um, you never told me… why you were coming to New Bark Town in the first place."

"That…" Gin paused, waiting until Suishou was a step or two ahead of her before she answered. "Well, it's really none of your business, so I'll just summarize. Most people come here to get advice when they start training, right? Well, that's me. In an overly simplified nutshell."

"But do you live anywhere around here?" Suishou asked curiously.

"Not really," Gin shrugged.

"They why..." Suishou's eyes widened childishly.

"I told you it's none of your business. Now hurry up with the tour guide if you please."

Gulping, Suishou tried to speed up his pace again, glancing nervously over his shoulder every now and again to make sure that Gin was still behind him…


	7. Chapter Six: Vs Rattata!

_Author's Note_: Eh… I feel kinda like these chapters have been horrifically short lately. This one should make up for that though. Plus two fairly important characters cameo here…

And by the way, I have nothing against the Johto starters—in fact, Cyndaquil's my favorite—but keep in mind that this is Gin's thought process, not mine. (wink)

**Chapter Six: Vs Rattata!**

"Come on, Trap! Use Karate Chop!"

"Hm… Quick Attack, Rattata."

Kin Hi grinned as his Mankey charged towards his cousin Hikaru's Rattata. His grin quickly vanished, however, when Rattata easily darted around Trap and crashed into him. Trap tumbled backwards and landed near Kin's feet, and the black-haired boy sighed as he withdrew his Pokémon.

"You're so lame, Kin," Hikaru smirked, tossing his shoulder-length blonde hair over his shoulder as he withdrew Rattata.

"But that's not fair!" Kin shouted. "You've had yours longer!"

"Yes, but I'm also younger than you," Hikaru lectured. "Shouldn't you at least have a Pokédex by now?"

"Yes, but—hey! That has nothing to do with anything!" Kin complained when Hikaru started laughing.

"Oh, it has everything to do with everything," the fourteen-year-old mocked. "Loser makes lunch, by the way."

"You just now made that up!" Kin nearly whined.

"Well… That's just too bad for you, then."

Kin grumbled to himself under his breath as he followed Hikaru back towards their house, clutching his yellow vest to himself protectively as he hung his head in embarrassment.

"Furthermore," Hikaru went on condescendingly, "I want you to change before we eat. You could at least get rid of the vest and the bandanna. Your clothing is atrocious."

"Like yours isn't!" Kin retorted as they entered the small two-story house. "And my bandanna is my life. I refuse."

"Hm," Hikaru droned, sinking into one of the kitchen chairs. "Well, I suppose you can keep it. It does keep your hair out of the way at least. And if you make ramen again, then don't burn the noodles."

"You're one to talk about hair," Kin grunted as he opened one of the cabinets, although not loud enough for his cousin to hear him. "And how come every time I talk to this kid, I always end up feeling stupid…"

As he pulled out a pan and filled it with water, Kin glanced out the window. Professor Elm's lab was somewhat visible from their kitchen. Kin's parents had met the professor a couple of times, and the lab was only about ten minutes away from their house. However, Kin didn't have his Pokédex yet, and therefore wasn't a licensed trainer even though he had Trap and was more than old enough.

"You know," Hikaru was saying, snapping Kin out of his thoughts, apparently having caught his line of sight. "I've been wondering why you don't have your trainer's license yet. You turned sixteen last month, you know. Are you just being lazy, or…"

"Shut up," Kin shot back. "Or… Or I'll burn the noodles again."

"Oh, threatening." Hikaru rolled his eyes and snorted.

Kin lapsed into silence, merely deciding to glare at Hikaru as he waited for the water to boil.

- - -

"So, where exactly is this lab?"

Gin paused as Suishou led her through the narrow, neatly-trimmed pathways of New Bark Town. She was still carrying the fossil, and Suishou was leading her around the small town eagerly.

"We should be there in just a few minutes!" Suishou grinned.

"And why are you so excited?" Gin raised an eyebrow as she continued to follow him.

"Well…" Suishou smiled almost nervously as he clasped his hands in front of him. "My mom used to know Professor Elm, I think. She left me here about ten years ago. But I'm not sad about it anymore, because I get to help the professor."

"That's crazy," Gin muttered, shifting the fossil to her free hand. "You don't just drop a kid off somewhere! And what do you mean, you're not sad about it anymore?"

"Well, I… Oh, here we are!"

The redhead grinned again as they arrived at a rather unimpressive two-story brick building. It looked closer to a house then a lab, and Gin felt her eye twitch. _This_ was the famous Elm Research Lab?

"Seriously?"

"O-of course…!"

Blushing slightly, Suishou took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. As they entered, Gin was further unimpressed. The interior was even simpler than the exterior: shelf-lined walls, several messy desks, a few papers scattered on the floor… The staircase in the back even looked a bit rickety.

"I'm sorry," Suishou whispered, blush darkening. "We've been really busy lately…"

"Oh, Suishou, back already?"

A skinny young brunette man carefully descended the staircase, his fingers lightly gripping the banister while his other hand clutched a thick binder. His white lab coat was slightly crooked, and he quickly straightened his askew glasses.

Gin felt her other eye twitch.

"Yes, Professor!" Suishou cried. "I told you I'd be okay. And I had help along the way. This is Gin Shinu, Professor!"

Professor Elm smiled politely when he reached the pair. He extended his hand, and Gin awkwardly shook it, still trying to balance the fossil with her other hand.

"Thank you," Professor Elm said. "Oh, I suppose this is…"

"Mmhmm," Gin droned, placing the fossil in his hands. "The guy said it was some kinda fossil or something."

"Yeah!" Suishou added, nodding excitedly. "Don't you have some kind of machine for DNA testing and things like that?"

"Well, yes, but… I had to buy it used," Professor Elm replied, grinning sheepishly. "So it may take a couple of days before I can get any results off of this."

"Oh…" Suishou sighed, seeming to wilt.

"Anyway! I never said I couldn't!" Professor Elm went on hastily. "And… Gin, was it?"

"Yeah?" Gin said boredly.

"I want to thank you somehow… Oh, I know. Suishou, where did I have that set of Pokédexes I ordered?"

"Upstairs in the storage closet, in the box marked _silverware and utensils_."

"Great, thanks."

Gin raised an eyebrow as Professor Elm headed back upstairs. Sure, she _had_ come for a Pokédex and all, but…

"Man, _silverware and utensils_?" she repeated dubiously.

"Yeah, well…" Suishou scratched the back of his neck. "We haven't been very organized lately, but… The professor knows that I know where everything is anyway."

"What are you, his housekeeper?" Gin snorted.

"Pretty much!" Suishou grinned. "Professor Elm doesn't really take care of himself, so I have to."

"That's…"

"All right, Suishou, I found them."

Professor Elm returned downstairs, a couple of the steps creaking as he came down. Suishou blinked when he saw two Pokédexes in the professor's hand.

"But, Professor Elm, who's the other one for?"

"You, of course," Professor Elm frowned slightly. "Suishou, you know I appreciate your help, but you really need to get outside more."

"But Professor!" Suishou protested. "I walk the Pokémon every day! And who would take care of—"

"Hey, calm down, kid," Gin interrupted. "You can see more outside than you can cooped up all day."

Professor Elm smiled wearily. "Gin's right, Suishou. Besides, when you're taking the Pokémon outside, you don't really get an opportunity to really look around, so you?"

"Oh," Suishou sighed, looking slightly dejected. "I guess not."

"Come on, Suishou, I'll be fine, if that's what you're worried about. And speaking of those Pokémon, they'd probably do better outside the lab, too."

"Hey," Gin frowned. "You seriously don't want me to take one, do you? I don't even know what they are yet."

"Okay, I'll introduce you!" Suishou said suddenly, perking back up. He took the three Pokéballs off of his belt and quickly opened them. "These are the three we spend the most time with: Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile."

Gin carefully looked over the three Pokémon. She quickly ruled out Chikorita; Grass-types weren't really in her taste, and there was something about Chikorita's big eyes and the leaf on her head that irked Gin. Cyndaquil wasn't really appealing to her either; while she didn't mind Fire-types, Cyndaquil just seemed awkward. Totodile was better than the others, at least…

"Totodile, I guess," Gin finally decided.

"Dile?" Totodile blinked, and then grinned toothily, apparently deciding that Gin wasn't so bad after all.

Chikorita looked up at Suishou suddenly, blinking for an entirely different reason, as Cyndaquil seemed to sigh. Suishou sighed as well.

"Chikorita," he smiled slowly, and Chikorita grinned.

"All right, I'll try to find a trainer for Cyndaquil as well," Professor Elm started. "And here… I entered your names into your Pokédexes while you were deciding."

Gin and Suishou took their Pokédexes, and Gin somewhat reluctantly withdrew Totodile. Professor Elm then cleared his throat.

"Um, Gin," he said. "Would you mid going with Suishou? Just for a little while, until he gets used to travelling."

"I…"

_What am I, this kid's babysitter_? Gin frowned, looking at Suishou out of the corner of her eye. He was blushing slightly, and Gin sighed. Did she even have a choice here?

"I guess," Gin mumbled.

"Thank you," Professor Elm answered, looking like he really meant it. "Good luck to both of you."

"All right," Gin reluctantly mumbled.

"Bye, Professor! I'll do my best," Suishou smiled.

"Aw, come on," Gin muttered, grabbing Suishou by the wrist as he waved to the professor, and dragged him out of the lab behind her.

"S-sorry," Suishou apologized, stumbling as they arrived back outside.

"As long as you don't fall behind, I don't really care," Gin shrugged. "I'm headed to Violet next, by the way. There's a gym there. Oh, and…"

Gin took Totodile's Pokéball off of her belt and handed it to Suishou. He looked bewildered and opened his mouth to say something, but Gin interrupted him.

"Totodile's probably more used to you, anyway," she shrugged. "Besides, it's hard to explain, but none of those Pokémon… really felt right. You know? Well, let's go."

Suishou nodded, still looking confused, and Gin silently turned away and started walking. This would be one interesting trip, Suishou thought, scrambling to keep up with Gin's long stride…


	8. Chapter Seven: Vs Totodile!

_Author's Note_: Turned out kinda short again, but it kinda works this way… No Kin this chapter though.

**Chapter Seven: Vs Totodile!**

"Um, Gin?"

Gin paused and looked over her shoulder at Suishou. The pair was nearly to Cherrygrove, as Gin had hoped that starting early enough that morning would get them to Violet before that night. Suishou, however, had kept stopping every few minutes to look at something or ask her a question—just like a little kid, Gin thought.

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you keep Totodile?"

Gin looked back in front of her and sighed. Most of the questions he'd spewed had been random, but she supposed this one was fairly important to him.

"I don't know," she responded, shrugging. "Didn't feel right."

"But Professor Elm gave him to you as thanks…"

Gin sighed as the pair began to walk down the familiar well-trimmed path of the outskirts of Cherrygrove. A few petals blew down from one of the trees, and Gin impatiently brushed them away.

"I know _that_. That's not what I meant."

Gin folded her arms, picturing the Water-type's toothy grin and large eyes. She looked back over her shoulder at him again and smirked slightly.

"It's like, you know, when you see an ad for something, and then you see it in the store and then it looks lame," she muttered.

"O-oh," Suishou mumbled, looking slightly disheartened. "Gin? You have other Pokémon, right? Where'd you get them?"

"Theriolt I caught in the Bug Catching Contest a few days back," she grinned. "Won me first place too. My Sneasel, Midnight… I took from my dad."

"T-took?" Suishou's eyes widened. "Why?"

"He wasn't using her," Gin replied easily.

"But… What about your family? Your dad didn't care, did he?"

"How am I supposed to know? Obviously, I'm not home now, am I?"

"You ran away?"

The pair had now passed by the Pokémon Center and the Mart, and Gin leaned calmly against a small tree around which the path split. She clenched her fist slightly and almost glared, but Suishou was looking at her rather expectantly.

"Look, kiddo," she sighed. "I'll only say this once. My mom's dead and my dad does everything my grandparents tell him to do. My older brother's a complete bum, but he's the only one in the house that listens to me. Midnight never even got any attention… You're saying you wouldn't run away from that?"

"But…" Suishou started uncertainly, but then apparently decided against saying whatever he'd been about to say. Instead, he suddenly looked curious. "You have an older brother?"

"Yeah, unfortunately. His name's Kuro. He's eighteen, two years older than I am, and even though he just passed high school, his grades were always worse than mine were. He's never done anything besides catch a bunch of creepy Pokémon. He didn't even train them much."

"You dropped out of school?"

"Pretty much," Gin shrugged. "It got boring. But hey, you're helping the professor, right? Do you even go to school?"

"Um… Not really," Suishou replied, blushing.

"Wow. You must be pretty sheltered," Gin commented.

"Ah… um…"

"Never mind. Hey, you wanna find some place to eat? It's on me."

As Gin quickly turned away, Suishou trailed after her somewhat slowly. Was that Gin's way of saying she was sorry?

- - -

Gin sighed. The pair had ended up stopping at a surprisingly nice pasta restaurant on the west end of Cherrygrove, and all Suishou had wanted was Ramen. Of course, that was less money that she had to spend, and he and Professor Elm probably lived on that stuff anyway, but it felt kind of ironic.

Gin twirled the last of her spaghetti around her fork, and Suishou carefully swallowed his remaining Ramen. Suishou laid his fork across his bowl, folding his hands as he looked at Gin.

"Um, thanks, Gin."

Gin arched an eyebrow, grabbing both her Styrofoam plate and his plastic bowl and accurately lodging them into the nearest trashcan.

"Get something more expensive next time, then," Gin grumbled. "Let's go."

Gin abruptly rose from her chair, and Suishou followed her somewhat awkwardly. It was probably a strange scene to watch, Suishou thought, smiling as they exited, but he'd appreciated the lunch all the same…


	9. Chapter Eight: Vs Cyndaquil!

_Author's Note_: Last chapter was rather short, but this one's significantly longer. And by the way, I don't really like Falkner very much. He kinda came off as irritating, at least in the game anyway, but that might just be me...

**Chapter Eight: Vs Cyndaquil!**

"Almost to Violet…"

Gin sighed. Stars were starting to twinkle in the sky above her and Suishou, and the redhead was starting to rub his eyes and yawn. Admittedly, it had to be almost midnight, but Gin hadn't wanted to stay in Cherrygrove and wait another day.

"Look, it'll only be a few minutes," Gin tossed out impatiently. "Coming?"

"Y-yeah," Suishou yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"All right then."

After brushing past several thick overgrowths, the pair arrived at Violet City's cliché brick entry posts. Stepping through them onto the neatly-trimmed stone pathway, Gin narrowed her eyes.

"Someone's there," she said over her shoulder, to which Suishou blinked tiredly. "In the bushes…"

Accurately, a few moments later, a skinny figure emerged from behind a nearby tree. Carefully brushing his blue bangs out of his face, he gave the pair a suspicious look.

"What would you two be doing, wandering around this late at night?" he questioned patronizingly.

"Looking for a place to sleep," Gin replied, shrugging. "We're, or at least I'm, training. You got a problem with that, pal? Or are you some kind of patrolman?"

"P-patrolman?" The young man twitched slightly. "You're partway there, but I'll only give you that much. I'm Falkner, this city's Gym Leader. As such, it's part of my job to maintain Violet's safety."

"Huh. Never heard of a Gym Leader doing that before," Gin commented, quirking an eyebrow at Falkner.

"It's true!" Falkner retorted condescendingly. "Now, if you don't _mind_, I assume you both have trainer's licenses? Or at least _some_ kind of identification?"

"Sure we do. Suishou!"

"Y-yeah," Suishou yawned again, handing Gin his Pokédex.

Gin handed both her Pokédex and Suishou's to Falkner, and he frowned as he pressed a few buttons on each of them. After a few beeps, he seemed to have reached the "Original Trainer" page, and he sighed. He handed back the devices, looking almost reluctantly satisfied.

"All right," Falkner conceded. "Pokémon Center's down the street and to the left."

"Why, thank you," Gin smirked. She then snapped her fingers. "Suishou, keep up. I won't carry you on my back."

"I… I wasn't going to…" Suishou started, shaking his head and stumbling after Gin.

Falkner frowned again as he watched Gin practically lead Suishou to the building. He assumed (or rather, hoped) that the poor redhead was just tired and not always that meek…

"What a strange pair…"

With that, Falkner flipped out his flashlight, and with a toss of his hair, resumed his rounds.

- - -

"Kin…"

Kin rolled over, smiling as he pulled his covers closer to him. Sure, it was his turn to unload the dishwasher before breakfast. But that could wait. He was having a rather nice dream at the moment, involving a long awaited win against Hikaru…

"Kin!"

"What?"

Kin blinked groggily, staring up into his own mother's face. Relieved that Hikaru hadn't come to harass him about the dishwasher, he grinned, still partially asleep.

"G'morning, Mom," Kin yawned, sitting up sleepily.

"_Morning_?" Ao Hi repeated. "It's nearly noon, Kin! Hikaru generously offered to unload the dishwasher for you earlier, so that means _you_ have to clean the bathroom for him this afternoon!"

"Aw, Mom," Kin whined. "Please no! Dad totally sheds worse than Hikaru's Meowth!"

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you stayed up so late last night!" Ao scolded, brushing a loose strand of her blond hair behind her ear. "Now get up! Your father and I bought some extra rice when we were at the store the other day, so come downstairs and help me heat it up for lunch."

Ao immediately turned and walked out of her son's room, meticulously straightening her blue jacket as she did so. Kin sighed as he stumbled out of bed to follow her. His baggy Psyduck pajamas caught several times on his admittedly large feet as he stumbled downstairs, cursing his horrible luck.

Not only could he not defeat Hikaru in a battle, but he couldn't beat him in the manners department either. Of course, Hikaru faked his politeness the majority of the time, which just made matters worse.

Hikaru himself was sitting languidly in one of the kitchen chairs, flipping through a Pokémon magazine, when Kin arrived downstairs. His blue eyes only briefly scanned Kin's disheveled appearance before looking back to the column he was reading.

"You look _fabulous_," Hikaru snorted.

"Shut up," Kin shot back.

"Kin!"

Ao appeared again in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen. She put her hands on her hips and gave Kin a disapproving look. Kin gulped. This pose usually meant a horrible lecture was coming.

"How many times have I told you not to pick on your cousin?" Ao started. "Especially not when he's done you a favor."

"But—but I—but he started it!" Kin wailed.

"Kin, you're sixteen, not six," Ao sighed. "Now come on and help me start lunch."

"Yes, Mom," Kin mumbled, shuffling after her to the stove.

Hikaru snickered just loudly enough for Kin to hear him. Resisting the urge to glare, Kin sighed, opening the bag of rice on the counter as Ao filled a pot with water. After Kin poured the rice into the pot, Ao set it on the stove and looked back at him.

"By the way, Kin, speaking of chores, your father and I decided to visit Professor Elm this morning," Ao started. "It's been quite a while since we've had time to drop by, you know. Well, while we were there, he said that his lab assistant was out, and wanted to know if you could run an errand for him later."

"Why can't Hikaru go?" Kin immediately demanded.

"Because he asked _you _to do it," Ao frowned. "Besides, I'm sure it's not for nothing."

"All right," Kin grumbled, stirring the rice disinterestedly. "I'll go."

"Good," Ao replied. "Just remember to clean the bathroom before you go. And don't you even think of skipping the sink this time, mister."

Kin groaned as Hikaru's snickers erupted into full-blown laughs. Ao smiled slightly as well, and Kin silently complained to the fact that even his mother was laughing him.

- - -

Several hours later, Kin was washing his hands profusely in the freshly-cleaned bathroom sink. He then sighed as he finally left the room, hoping to Ho-oh that it was clean enough to earn a passing mark from his mother.

Kin carefully tiptoed back downstairs. Ao was apparently in the process of cooking something for dinner now, he noted as he passed the kitchen. He reached the front door and rested his hand on the knob before calling out to Ao.

"Mom, I'm going to the lab now!"

"That bathroom better be spotless."

"It is! It is! Bye, Mom!"

Kin quickly opened the front door and left before anything dangerous could happen. Closing the door behind him, Kin sighed and took several fast steps away from his house. He didn't feel completely safe until he'd finished the ten-minute jog to the professor's lab, however. Despite the fact that the building was somewhat easy to miss, not to mention usually messy, Kin was glad to have a reason to be free of Hikaru's antics for a little while.

Knocking quickly and then going on in, Kin sidestepped a book near the front door. It had been quite a while since the last time he'd actually gone in—his parents had tried to convince him to get a Pokémon for his fifteenth birthday, but just before he'd been about to pick, Trap had gotten jealous and delivered a swift Karate Chop to Kin's forehead. The whole thing had gone over quite poorly in Kin's mind, and as such he hadn't been back since then.

"Professor?" Kin called.

"Ah, Kin, good to see you."

The professor's voice rang out as he descended the staircase, smiling. Kin scratched the back of his neck, grinning awkwardly back.

"Uh, hey," he replied.

"Glad you're here," Professor Elm went on. "Anyway, you remember Suishou, right?"

Kin nodded, the name jogging the memory of a short, skinny, redhead. Unfortunately, however, he'd only met Suishou once, and that had only been for a few seconds.

"Well, he left the other day with a… friend of his, I suppose, after giving me a delivery," Professor Elm explained. He then reached into a pocket in his lab coat and pulled out a Pokéball. "Would you mind trying to catch up to him and deliver this for me? I think he should be around Violet City."

"Violet?" Kin repeated, blinking. "Well… I guess."

"Great, great. Now, if I remember correctly, you don't have a trainer's license yet, right?"

"Yeah," Kin admitted.

"Well, then… I managed to dig this out of a box upstairs," Professor Elm said, now pulling out a Pokédex. "I already put your name into it. Oh, and I have a Pokémon I'd like to give you as well. I gave my Totodile and Chikorita to Suishou and his friend the other day, so I was hoping you'd take Cyndaquil."

Kin vaguely recalled hearing about the three Pokémon last year when he'd come, as the professor had just gotten them. Cyndaquil was the Fire-type, and was the one he'd been thinking about taking then.

"All right!" Kin grinned. "Thanks, Professor."

"Ah, you're welcome," Professor Elm smiled, handing the dex and two Pokéballs to Kin. "One of those is Cyndaquil, and the other is what I want you to give to Suishou."

"Okay," Kin answered, taking all three items. "I'll have him call you when I get there."

"Thanks, Kin. Oh, and tell Aka I have some papers to give him later."

"All right, see you, prof."

Kin waved as he left, and then smirked. Whatever Professor Elm wanted to give Kin's father could wait—he'd call his parents when he got to Violet. The boy smirked as he looked at the Pokéballs he'd just clipped to his belt.

He'd finally gotten something Hikaru didn't have: a Pokédex, but, more importantly, a new Pokémon.


	10. Chapter Nine: Vs Pidgeotto!

_Author's Notes_: Well, there's not really much to say beforehand about this chapter, other than it's decently long.

**Chapter Nine: Vs Pidgeotto!**

Gin chewed on a slice of toast, bored, as she wandered around the Pokémon Center's cafeteria. She'd always been an early riser, and that day was no exception. She'd woken up well before Suishou, and had gone to get breakfast while waiting for him.

A couple other trainers entered the cafeteria as Gin lingered near the door. One of them, a short blonde girl, tossed her single Pokéball between her hands as she listened to the other talk. The brunette boy was grinning and talking quietly, and a Teddiursa sat on his shoulder. Gin sighed, watching the pair settle into one of the tables, wondering how easy it had been for them to start training.

However, she soon got irritated as she remembered her grandmother's incessant lecturing on the subject. Umi had been decidedly against letting Gin train until she finished school. Kuro had started training early, but afterwards, he'd gotten lazier with his school work.

Gin then decided to smirk and shrug it off. After all, she was already a better trainer than Kuro—he'd never even intended to earn any badges, and Gin snidely assumed that from her brief encounter with Falkner the previous day, he wouldn't be difficult.

"G-good morning, Gin…"

Turning around, she saw Suishou yawning as he entered the cafeteria door next to her. He smiled somewhat sleepily, reaching for a plate on the breakfast bar.

"Take some toast, kid," Gin responded testily. "You're up too late."

Suishou blinked but obediently took a pair of toast slices. He crunched on them as Gin turned and headed out of the cafeteria, arms folded over her chest. Suishou quickly swallowed as he tried to keep up with Gin. Her stride was a lot longer than his, whether she consciously was trying to walk fast or not.

Gin looked over her shoulder as they left the building. "Hey, kiddo," she called. "I know where the gym is—passed it a few times when I came here with my brother once. _You'd_ probably be bored stiff watching, so—"

"No, no, I want to!" Suishou cried. "I've never been good at battling. I want to watch!"

"Hey," Gin muttered, turning back around. "We're not going to a movie. Calm down."

"Okay!"

"Oy," Gin sighed.

As she walked through Violet's somewhat familiar paths, Gin stretched and cradled the back of her head in her hands. She idly wondered if her father was still bothering sending his Pokémon out to look for her. It had been at least a week, after all, and Kaze wasn't "allowed" to go out on his own, on Mizu and Umi's orders.

Eventually, she and Suishou reached a white, pagoda-styled building with a sky blue roof and decorations. It fortunately wasn't very tall, and a smirk formed on Gin's lips as she turned the somewhat loose knob on the door. It creaked open, and Gin poked her head into a dimly lit room.

"Hey," she called, the echo of her voice bouncing back to her.

After a few moments of waiting, a slow creaking sound could be heard, followed by footsteps. Suddenly, a light clicked on, and Falkner was standing in the back of the room, resting his hand on the light switch and smirking.

"I thought you'd come. I'll be waiting upstairs."

With that, he turned back towards the door he'd just come through. Gin felt a vein twitch in her forehead.

"Wait right there! You're telling me you came all the way down here just to say you wouldn't be fighting me right away?" she shouted. "What's keeping you from battling me here and now?"

"Hm?" Falkner looked over his shoulder. "My birds are better in open places. We're battling on the roof."

Then he closed the door behind him, and Gin rubbed her temples. She didn't know what was giving her the bigger headache—Falkner's attitude or the fact that she simply didn't feel like going way up several flights of stairs.

"Gin?"

Suishou tapped Gin's shoulder, looking confused. Gin sighed.

"All right, here we go. I hope you're not afraid of heights, kid."

* * *

Kin tossed Cyndaquil's Pokéball from hand to hand as he arrived in Cherrygrove City. He'd jogged most of the way and had gotten there in under an hour and a half, and he grinned silently to himself. He still hadn't told his mother that he was going all the way out to Violet, but if he had before leaving, Ao probably would have insisted that he let Hikaru come along.

Of course, he still didn't know what was in the other Pokéball Professor Elm had handed him. He hadn't even actually touched it since getting it, but that was a matter of not knowing what to expect—with Professor Elm it could be anything from a Rattata to an Ursaring.

Kin's stomach suddenly growled, and he grinned sheepishly to himself. He wound through Cherrygrove's neatly trimmed paths, and sighed in relief when he spotted a small fast-food restaurant. A bell clattered as he entered, and a waitress scurried over to him.

"A table for one?" she squeaked, brushing her brown hair out of her mousy face.

"Yeah," Kin nodded.

"All right, sir," the waitress answered, curtseying slightly and leading him to a small, two-seated table near the front of the joint.

_Sir? Well, she does look younger than me, but…_ Kin shrugged and then grinned. _Hey, I could get used to that… Hm…_

"All right, sir, I'll be back to take your order in a moment," she went on, and then set the round tray she was holding onto the table. "Water?"

Kin nodded again, and the waitress took the pitcher and a glass and set them on the table. She poured the water somewhat anxiously, as if she was expecting it to spill. When Kin had a glass of water without incident, she smiled, looking relieved, and then curtsied again before trotting away.

Then Kin took his two Pokéballs off of his belt and released Trap and Cyndaquil onto the seat across from him. Cyndaquil curiously poked his nose over the table, while Trap quickly jumped across it to stand on Kin's shoulders rather possessively.

"It's okay, Trap," Kin grinned. "Cyndaquil… I mean, how about Spark?"

"Quil!" Cyndaquil peeped, sounding all right with the suggestion.

"Great. Okay, Trap, Spark's gonna be fine with us, right?"

"Key," Trap responded, agreeing somewhat reluctantly.

"Good," Kin answered, patting Trap on the back.

A few moments later, the waitress hurried back to Kin's table, and blinked when she saw the two Pokémon. Kin scratched the back of his neck, grinning as he tried to come up with something.

"Uh, they'll be fine," he said brilliantly.

"O-okay," the waitress stammered, looking a bit apprehensively at Trap. "Um… What would you… like to order?"

"Cheeseburger's fine," Kin replied. "And extra fries for these two."

"All right," she said, jotting down Kin's order on a notepad. "I'll back as soon as possible, sir!"

She dashed away again, hastily tying a loose strand of her apron. Kin smiled slightly, taking a sip of his water, and then looked back at his Pokémon.

"So… Should I ask her out when she comes back? She is kinda cute."

"Cynda?" Spark asked curiously, and Trap sighed.

* * *

"Falkner!"

Gin huffed slightly as she and Suishou arrived at the top of the gym's staircase. The roof sloped up around them, and there was a large, square opening above them. Falkner was standing across the arena from her, smirking.

"All right, you're finally here," he responded confidently. "Let's get started."

"Great," Gin grinned back, taking a Pokéball off of her belt. "Go, Theriolt!"

"Gin?" Suishou asked. "Um, why not Midnight?"

"I think you expect me to go easy on you," Falkner interrupted. "Should I start by mocking you, then? Come on, Pidgey!"

Falkner tossed out a Pokéball of his own, revealing the small, brown bird Pokémon. It chirped curiously at the large Scyther, and Theriolt stared back at it.

"Heh," Gin chuckled. "You call that mocking? More like obliging."

"You—!"

"You're the one who wanted to get started. Theriolt, use Fury Cutter!"

Theriolt dove forward, slashing Pidgey with one of his blades. He then turned around and slashed it again with his other blade before it had the chance to react.

"P-Pidgey! Use Tackle!" Falkner forced.

Pidgey tumbled backward after another slash, and tried to dart back towards Theriolt. Before it could pull off its own attack, however, Theriolt struck again. This time, Pidgey didn't hop back up.

"See?" Gin called as Suishou grinned. "Too easy."

"You have such low expectations," Falkner replied, recalling Pidgey. He then released another, larger bird Pokémon. "Pidgeotto will knock you down a few pegs."

"I don't think so," Gin replied disdainfully. "Fury Cutter."

"Wing Attack!"

Theriolt lifted his blade again as Pidgeotto rose into the air. The Flying-type dove towards him, wings outstretched, and Theriolt reached forward slightly. However, Pidgeotto shifted just as Theriolt was about to slash at it, and then struck his torso with its wings. Theriolt cried out in surprise and stumbled backwards, losing his balance.

"Aw, man," Gin mumbled. "Hey, Theriolt! Try Slash."

"Wing Attack again!"

Theriolt regained his footing and tried to strike at Pidgeotto again. However, Pidgeotto dodged just in time again and once again hit Theriolt with its wings. The Scyther glared as he skidded.

"This is getting nowhere," Gin muttered. "I'm switching."

She withdrew Theriolt and reached for Midnight's Pokéball. The Sneasel appeared beside her, cocking her head slightly.

"Midnight, give it an Ice Punch."

"Keep up the Wing Attack, Pidgeotto."

Midnight's claws glistened as ice formed around them. Pidgeotto dove towards her, and just before it hit, Midnight lashed out at it. Pidgeotto nearly squawked as Midnight's freezing claws struck its wings, and it tumbled to the floor. It tried to get back up in the air, but small ice crystals had already formed in its wings.

"Now finish it with Faint Attack!"

Midnight nodded and seemingly vanished. Then, she suddenly reappeared next to Pidgeotto and rammed into it. The Flying-type fell to the floor, panting and laying its head down.

Falkner sighed and wordlessly recalled Pidgeotto. He then looked up at Gin.

"Well, it looks like you're better than I thought," he said. "You don't fail _horribly_, at any rate."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gin demanded.

"Oh, never mind…"

Falkner reached into a pocket in his jacket and pulled out a wing-shaped badge. He reluctantly handed it to her, and Gin grinned as she clipped it to the inside of her own jacket.

Gin chuckled again. "Well, hey, the next time you fight someone, you might get lucky. They might get too tired from walking up all those stairs and make a wrong decision."

"Wh-what?" he cried.

"Oh, nothing," Gin tossed over her shoulder as she turned around. "Later."

Gin ignored Falkner's shouts, laughing under her breath as she and Suishou headed back to the stairs. They were only wide enough for them to walk in single file, so Suishou filed behind her. The redhead tapped her on the shoulder after a few minutes of silence.

"Hey, Gin?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you could fight me sometime? I want to try…"

"No way. It would be no fun."

Gin smiled to herself, silently adding, _And too easy_. Suishou, however, simply sighed and continued following her down the winding staircase.


	11. Chapter Ten: Vs Bellsprout!

_Author's Notes_: Ah, Sprout Tower. Brings back some really annoying memories, but hey. The last Sage is admittedly a pushover.

And besides, we get to see Kin's horrendous timing in this chapter… And some utterly clueless actions on _everybody's_ parts.

**Chapter Ten: Vs Bellsprout!**

"Hey, kiddo. I'd say it's getting close to your bedtime."

"Hey…"

Gin and Suishou had stopped at a street vendor to get hotdogs after leaving the gym, and after a fair bit of wandering around, the sky was starting to get dark. Admittedly, they _had_ been walking for a while, but it was only about six o'clock.

Suishou yawned and went on, "I've stayed up _really_ late before helping Professor Elm."

"That's not good for you. How the heck did you manage?"

It felt strange to say—especially as Gin herself often stayed up way past her ten o'clock curfew—but as cluttered as her small glimpse of the lab had been, it had to be much worse for Suishou. As impatient as Gin was, her room was surprisingly clean. She never stayed up late wasting time to look for things, which she strongly assumed was the case for the professor and Suishou.

Of course, Gin's statement was running on another assumption. That being that she was actually _worried_ about how much sleep they got.

"That's a general statement, of course," she added, almost as an afterthought. "I'm not really tired myself, you know, but you looked pretty worn out just by going up and down Falkner's staircase."

"The one at the lab… doesn't wind like that," Suishou replied, stifling yet another yawn.

"Uh huh. Well, let's go on and get checked into the Pokémon Center early, okay?"

"O-okay."

Gin whistled slightly as the pair walked back towards the Pokémon Center. Suishou rubbed his eyes sleepily several times and remained surprisingly quiet the whole time. When they arrived, Gin signed their names into the guest log at the front counter, and they headed to the common room.

Gin quickly grabbed a sleeping bag from the stock in the front of the room, and Suishou carefully took one as well. They spread out in the back, and Gin gave a sideways glance to a few other unoccupied bags, scooting hers over a few feet.

"Gin? I'm really tired. Can we go to sleep now?"

The gray-haired girl looked over at Suishou. Dark semi-circles had formed under his eyes, and he looked more than "really tired."

"Go on," she replied casually. "I'll be back in a few minutes. I need to walk around a bit before I go to sleep."

"Okay."

Suishou eagerly crawled into his sleeping bag, and just a few seconds later, he was fast asleep. Gin shook her head as she stood up. She'd never been able to fall asleep so quickly, even when she was younger.

Stretching slightly, Gin headed back towards the Pokémon Center's lobby, glancing only briefly over her shoulder at the sleeping redhead.

- - -

Kin sighed as he arrived in Violet City. Some stars were twinkling in the sky, and he hurriedly looked for the Pokémon Center. Fortunately, it was fairly close to the city's entrance, and as Kin opened the sliding glass door, he was looking forward to sleep.

However, before he reached the counter to sign in, Kin crashed into a blue-and-gray something and landed on the floor. Coughing, Kin dusted himself off and stood up.

"Hey, watch where you're walking."

A tall boy with shoulder-length gray hair wearing a blue uniform glared at Kin before brushing some non-existent dust off of his sleeve. His gray eyes narrowed, scrutinizing, as if waiting for Kin to apologize.

"What do you mean? You're the one who got in my way," Kin retorted. "Besides, I'm busy."

"That's why you looked so vacant, then."

_Hikaru would be best friends with this guy_… Kin frowned. Aloud, he said, "I'm not vacant! Hey, you haven't seen a little red-haired kid around here, have you? I've got something for him."

Kin pulled Professor Elm's delivery Pokéball out of his pocket and held it up. After a careful glance, the boy shrugged.

"He's asleep," he muttered, turning around suddenly.

"Hey! Wait! You should at least tell me your name before you run off like that!" Kin demanded.

"Gin Shinu."

Kin blinked as Gin turned away with a flip of the hair and sauntered off. He stood with his mouth agape, staring, before he finally shook himself.

"Wait—my name's Kin Hi—"

But the call obviously fell on deaf ears. Grumbling, Kin trudged over to the Pokémon Center's reception counter to sign the log for sleep-ins. He then headed towards the common room, and, after grabbing a sleeping bag, set it down near the front of the room, hoping he was as far from Gin as possible.

Kin slowly crawled into the yellow sleeping bag and frowned as he turned onto his side. Maybe he should have told Gin the delivery was from Professor Elm—even a punk like that had to have heard of the professor—but Kin silently shook his head. By admitting to seeing Suishou sleep, Gin had basically said the redhead was still around. He'd catch up to him in the morning.

Untying his bandana, Kin smiled as he snuggled down into his sleeping bag. He had everything worked out…

- - -

"Gin?"

Gin squeezed her eyes tighter shut as she sat up. She slowly opened them as she rose, running her fingers through her hair. Soon, she was blinking owlishly at Suishou.

"I see you're bright and early," Gin yawned, standing up. "Sprout Tower after breakfast?"

"What's Sprout Tower?"

Gin looked incredulously at Suishou as they rolled up their sleeping bags. She then took a deep breath before she started explaining.

"I passed by it one time when I came here with my brother. Apparently it's some kind of training facility."

"Oh."

The pair stood up headed towards the sleeping bag drop-off box in the front of the common room. Gin's eyes flicked over an obnoxiously yellow sleeping bag covering a dark-haired boy as she put away her sleeping bag, but she quickly shook her head.

"G-Gin?"

"Never mind," Gin replied, crossing her arms as the pair left the Pokémon Center's sleeping quarters.

The cafeteria was fairly close, and they quickly got into the somewhat short line. Gin simply took two slices of toast, while Suishou chose a plate of waffles. Eating hurriedly, and almost silently, the pair just as hurriedly threw away the plastic plates to leave again.

"I don't this one's stairs aren't as obnoxious," Gin called over her shoulder as they left the Pokémon Center. "Hopefully."

Looking relieved, Suishou nearly ran to keep up with her. After taking several turns on the winding paths of the city's northern edge, they arrived at a brown, green-roofed tower in the same pagoda-style as Falkner's gym. The wooden door creaked slightly when Gin opened it.

Gin blinked—the lighting inside was almost blinding. Once her eyes recovered, she sighed. A single pillar in the middle of the square room seemed to be the only support for the rest of the tower. Furthermore, like the outside, the inside was constructed almost entirely of wood, including the rickety staircase in the back.

"This is a fire hazard if I ever saw one."

Suishou opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, footsteps were heard from above. Moments later, a small group of men wearing robes appeared at the top of the staircase. The one in front took a few steps forward.

"Greetings! Have you come for the training program?"

Gin blinked as Suishou suddenly answered, "Yes! We did!"

"Good, good," the man went on. "The challenge is to reach the top of the tower, defeating any of the sages or Pokémon in the process. You may use any Pokémon you wish. However, we will be monitoring your progress, and you will only truly succeed if you work well together."

"Right. Well, then…" Gin smirked. "We _will_ succeed."

The sage chuckled. "Best of luck."

Gin shot a glance at Suishou as the group dissipated. He blinked at her, seemingly oblivious to what she was getting at.

"You sure about this?"

"Of course!" Suishou grinned. "I want to try!"

"All right. Let's get going, then!"

- - -

"Hey, you okay?"

Suishou had suddenly grabbed his hand when they'd reached the top of the stairs. He frowned, and the shook his head.

"Nothing. Just the banister. I'm okay!"

"Sure," Gin replied, unconvinced.

Before she could go on, however, several leaves lashed out from behind the center pillar. Gin ducked and pulled Suishou down with her. Looking up, she saw a pair of Bellsprout leering as they crawled out towards the two trainers.

"Heh. Ready?"

"I'll try!"

Gin reached for Midnight's Pokéball while Suishou released Chikorita. The dark-type and the grass-type shared a brief glance and then looked at the Bellsprout.

"All right, you go for one and I'll go for the other," Gin instructed. "Let's start. Midnight, Ice Punch!"

"Chi, try a Tackle!"

Midnight's claws glinted as she charged towards one of the Bellsprout. Her frozen fist collided with its thin body, freezing it down to its roots and sticking it too its spot. Meanwhile, Chi tackled the other Vine Pokémon.

Gin nodded. "All right, switch it up. Midnight, Faint Attack the other!"

"Use Vine Whip, Chi!"

Grinning, Midnight dashed towards the opposite Bellsprout. Before it had time to react, Midnight rammed into it and sent it rolling back a few feet. It landed in a heap, motionless.

Chi turned towards the half-frozen Bellsprout and slowly released two vines from the buds on her neck. The Bellsprout, however, managed to shoot a Sludge Bomb out of its mouth. Deflecting the acid with her vines, Chi struck the Bellsprout and knocked it over.

"Hey, not bad," Gin commented as they withdrew their Pokémon. "At this rate, we might actually make it to the top soon."

"Thanks!" Suishou grinned.

Gin nodded, and the two slowly headed for the other staircase at the opposite end of the room…


	12. Chapter Eleven: Vs Omanyte!

_Author's Notes_: Whee, more fun stuff involving beating up a bunch of Bellsprouts. Sorry to anyone who likes them—I do too—but they're fun to knock out. Anyway… The Pokémon from Elm is revealed! (trumpets sound) But, it's not really all that mysterious...

**Chapter Eleven: Vs Omanyte!**

"Fury Cutter, Theriolt."

"Toto, use Scratch!"

Gin's Scyther and Suishou's Totodile simultaneously attacked the wild Bellsprout, knocking it out almost instantly. The gray-haired girl grinned as they withdrew their Pokémon.

"Not bad, not bad," she commented. "But we still have the last floor…"

After having checked the map on the first floor, the pair had learned that the tower was five stories tall. Currently, they were on the fourth floor, and the staircase was in sight. So far, Suishou had exceeded Gin's expectations, but said expectations hadn't been all that high in the first place—which Gin realized was somewhat biased of her.

Suishou followed her excitedly as she went on towards the staircase. It creaked slightly as they walked up, but then again, the other staircases had, too.

Arriving on the landing, Gin pursed her lips. The group of sages they'd encountered upon entering was all in a line on the back wall. After nodding amongst themselves, the head sage beckoned to two of the others.

"Greetings once again," he called. "You've made it farther than some of the others… This is your final test of teamwork."

"All right," Gin smirked. "Ready, Suishou?"

"Y-yep!" Suishou replied, gulping slightly.

The two sages bowed to them, and then silently released a pair of Bellsprout. Gin proceeded to toss out Theriolt's Pokéball, while Suishou released Chi.

"Start with Wing Attack, Theriolt," Gin called.

"Vine Whip, Chi!"

The two sages merely nodded again, and their Bellsprouts launched a combined Razor Leaf at Theriolt and Chi. The Scyther instantly flipped around, jumping in front of the attack and hovering his thin wings quickly to slice through the leaves. Then, Chi sent a pair of vines out of two of the buds on her neck, each vine slamming into one of the Bellsprout.

"Hm," the head sage mused. "Continue…"

"Is that good or bad?" Suishou whispered curiously.

Gin shrugged. "Well, he hasn't actually _said_ anything bad yet, right? Let's just keep this up."

"Oh… Okay, then… Use Vine Whip again, Chi!"

"Fury Cutter."

At the prompt of the two sages' usual nods, the Bellsprouts shot a pair of Sludge Bombs at the two other Pokémon. Chi knocked the attacks out of the way with her vines, and Theriolt slashed down on the two Grass-types. They tumbled backwards, and landed in a tangled heap next to the sages.

As the Bellsprouts were withdrawn, the head sage smiled broadly and walked over to Gin and Suishou. He slowly shook their hands.

"That was one of the best battles we've had in a while," he said, sounding sincere. "I wish we had something to give you, but we don't."

"Wha—" Gin twitched slightly.

"That's okay!" Suishou intervened. "It's good that we came this far. Right… Gin?"

Gin sighed; the redhead looked absolutely serious. She nodded, albeit a bit grudgingly, as she and Suishou proceeded to withdraw their own Pokémon. There was no way she would have agreed to that normally…

"Well then, we wish you good luck!" said the sage. "Good bye, and again, good luck!"

"Thanks!" Suishou grinned.

"Yeah, yeah," Gin grumbled, merely waving over her shoulder in acknowledgement as she turned around. She then headed quickly back to the staircase, and Suishou scrambled in surprise to keep up with her…

- - -

Kin yawned as he crawled out of his sleeping bag. After rolling it up and turning it in, he pulled his Pokégear out of his pocket and selected the clock function. His eyes bugged slightly as he stared at the glowing digits.

"T-ten forty-five?" Kin cried. "What if… Is he…"

Kin immediately headed to the sign-in counter in the lobby, very narrowly missing a couple of little kids getting their Pokémon back. The receptionist at the counter blinked at him as he slammed his hands on the table, panting.

"Was there… a Suishou Koi here… last night?" Kin gasped.

"Um…."

Still looking a bit rattled, the blonde woman flipped through the sheets on her clipboard and eventually informed him, "Oh, yes. He checked out around seven this morning with a Gin Shinu, I believe. Why do you ask?"

"Aw, man!"

Kin slapped his palm to his forehead, angrily grabbing onto the Pokéball in his pocket. The receptionist's eyes widened a bit, and she leaned forward, looking concerned.

"Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay! I totally missed him! Aw, forget it, sign out Kin Hi. I'm outta here. He might still be in Violet…"

Kin turned on his heel and ran out of the Pokémon Center before the receptionist had a chance to say anything. Slowing down after he ran out of breath, Kin rested a hand on the wall of a nearby apartment. If Suishou had checked out with that Gin guy, and if they _were_ still in Violet… Then they were probably at either the gym or Sprout Tower.

Suddenly, Kin heard the sound of a creaky wooden door, and only when he looked up did he realize that he was only a few yards from Sprout Tower. A tall, gray-haired boy in a blue uniform and a short redhead in a much-too-large gray-and-purple sweater were exiting the building, the taller one grumbling incessantly.

"Hold it!" Kin shouted, pointing a finger. "It's you!"

Gin looked up, the sight of Kin apparently making him even more upset. Suishou tugged on the taller boy's sleeve.

"It's okay, Gin. Kin lives down the street from the professor's lab! Professor Elm probably just wanted something."

Kin suddenly felt an overwhelming relief for the short boy and grinned rather euphorically as he reached into his pocket for the Pokéball. However, Kin's grin soon vanished as Gin rolled his eyes.

"Well, isn't this a small world. Anyway, what do you want?"

"Hey, it's important!" Kin replied hotly. "This… is from Professor Elm!"

He dramatically pulled the Pokéball from his pocket and handed it to Suishou. The redhead looked confused at first, but then his blue eyes shone in recognition of the delivery. As he pressed the release button on the Pokéball, he grinned.

Gin blinked as the Pokémon materialized. "Um… What is _that_?"

A large, yellow, spiral-shell sat in the path in front of the trio. Several bright blue tentacles emerged from the front of the shell, and a pair of round eyes peeked out above the tentacles.

"Oma… nyte," the Pokémon said curiously.

"It must be what came from the fossil Mr. Pokémon gave us," Suishou replied thoughtfully. "Its shell is the same."

"Oh," Gin mumbled, and Kin blinked. How long _had_ Gin been with Suishou, anyway?

"Nyte?" Omanyte asked suddenly.

"Okay, Omanyte," Suishou smiled. "Come on!"

Suishou took the Pokéball from Kin and recalled Omanyte. Kin shook his head; he could've sworn a relieved look was on the fossil Pokémon's face as it was withdrawn.

"Well, this is great and all, but we've got places to go," Gin interjected.

"Like where?" Kin demanded.

"Azalea Town and other important places," Gin replied haughtily. "Right, Suishou?"

"Um… Right!"

_Why do I get the feeling Gin __**just now**__ made that up_? Kin frowned.

"Hey, wait!" he cried.

"What?"

Gin tossed the question over his shoulder as he and Suishou turned to leave. Kin chewed on the inside of his mouth for a moment before he answered.

"Why are you taking Suishou with you, anyway?"

"'Cause I want him to. And he wants to. Idiot."

With a flippant wave of his hand, Gin turned back around and quickened his pace, and a slightly blushing Suishou hurried to keep up with the taller boy's longer strides. Kin shook his head again as the two left.

"Whatever. But hey, I guess hanging around here for a while could help me out…"

With that, Kin grinned and headed towards Sprout Tower himself.

_A/N_: Meh, referring to Gin as "he" during Kin's point of view bugged me in some places. But as Kin is rather clueless… It'll stay that way for a while, lol.


	13. Chapter Twelve: Vs Ekans!

_Author's Notes_: So… Union Cave and stuff. Mt. Moon's better, though…

And, uh, I don't think I mentioned this yet, but Trainer Cards and pics and such are all in my profile now. Go look if you haven't already.

**Chapter Twelve: Vs Ekans!**

"Hey, Gin? You know Kin, too?"

Gin paused. She and Suishou had headed south from Violet onto Route 32 en route to Azalea, and it was getting dark out. As usual, he'd peppered her with questions on the way, and she planned on giving this one the usual short answer.

"Know? _'Unfortunately ran into'_ is a better word choice."

"R-really?"

"Really."

Gin folded her arms as they continued walking. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Suishou start to say something, but behind him, a tree branch snapped and something fell. A large Ekans slithered in between the pair, and slowly raised itself up to Suishou's eye level, tongue darting out. Suishou gulped and took a step back, and Gin sighed.

"It's just an Ekans. Leave it alone and it'll go…"

The Ekans slithered around to face Gin, its eyes somewhat blank. Gin rolled her eyes and grabbed Midnight's Pokéball and released the Dark-type.

"Hey, Midnight," she grinned. "Ice Punch, okay?"

Midnight nodded, and her claws glistened. As ice crystals formed on them, she lashed out at the snake Pokémon, and it fainted, obviously far more from shock than actual pain. Sighing again as she withdrew Midnight, Gin turned to Suishou.

"You've gotta be prepared for stuff like that," Gin said as she started walking again. "Some wild Pokémon are just weirder than others."

"Y-yeah, I know," Suishou answered quietly.

"Man, it's all right. Just warning you."

The pair walked in silence for a few seconds. Ahead of them, the previously dirt trail turned rocky, and a small pathway forked off the main way to the right. On the right, a small circle of tents and benches had been set up, and straight ahead laid the entrance to what looked like a tunnel.

"Hey, Gin? What are those tents for?"

"Probably a rest stop. It'd really be best to stop before going on."

"Why?"

Gin sighed as she turned back to Suishou. She gestured to the tunnel entrance and explained, "That's Union Cave. Haven't actually been through it before, but my brother did once, a _really_ long time ago. Apparently, it's not all that long, but it's pretty winding. Besides, you're tired, right?"

"N-n-no," Suishou replied, stifling a yawn.

"Come on, kid, you're an open book. I don't wanna carry you through. Let's go."

Gin took the right path towards the rest stop, and Suishou rubbed his eyes slightly as he followed. A large hiker at the entrance booth grinned as they approached, pulling a pen out of the pocket of his vest. He set it on the table next to a clipboard.

"Can I get ya to sign in?" he called, somewhat gruffly.

"Whatever," Gin mumbled, but grabbed the pen anyway, writing down both her and Suishou's names. She frowned slightly as she straightened up. "So, what now?"

"Y'all just get into an unoccupied tent," the man shrugged. "There are already sleeping bags in 'em. Stay as long as ya need, but don't forget to sign out when ya go."

"Huh. That's…" Gin shook her head. "Never mind."

She and Suishou passed several tents before finding one that didn't have indicatory shadows. Ducking under the flap of a dull gray tent, Gin reluctantly sank onto a large, poofy sleeping bag, while Suishou eagerly crawled into one of the other three. Reaching up to click off the tent's small lamp, Gin simply laid on the top of her sleeping bag.

"Gonna be up early tomorrow, kiddo?"

"Mm, yeah," Suishou responded sleepily.

Gin sighed as she rolled over onto her side. She really wanted to get on to Azalea Town, but leaving Suishou behind would _not_ be fun to explain to Professor Elm. She owed him for the Pokédex, after all…

- - -

The next morning, Suishou stretched as he sat up. Blinking, he looked around the tent for Gin, and his eyes widened as they settled on her sleeping bag.

It was empty.

She'd left already. Had he slept that late? Suishou shook his head. It was his fault. Professor Elm had wanted him to get out more, and now that he'd had the chance to actually be out with someone else, he'd wasted it.

Slowly, Suishou crawled out of his sleeping bag and stood up. He walked over to the tent flap, prepared to go on back to New Bark Town.

However, the tent flap suddenly opened, and a pair of familiar gray eyes blinked at him.

"Hey, kid. You look awful. Want some breakfast? I just checked outside and some guys out there have started a fire."

Suishou grinned and nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Gin!"

"Hey, whoa," she replied. "It's no big, you know? Come on."

Even so, Suishou couldn't help feeling relieved as he followed Gin over to the bonfire.

- - -

Gin hastily signed out herself and Suishou at the entry booth, and the pair took the forked path towards Union Cave. The path sloped downwards slightly as they headed to the cave, and Gin noticed Suishou shiver slightly.

"It's not that cold, is it? Kuro wears fish nets half the time and he was okay…"

"N-no," Suishou responded. "I, uh… I'm okay."

"Yeah. Right."

Gin rolled her eyes slightly but decided to accept his answer as she ducked through the short cave entrance. Suishou barely had to duck, she noted as she straightened up.

Looking around, Gin noticed that at least there were no forked paths inside the cave, but pools of water and stalagmite growths had formed in inconvenient places that forced detours. It made a rather long, winding path, but at least it was easy to tell where to go…

"All right, looks like it won't take terribly long," Gin yawned. "Come on."

Suishou's nervous glancing around somewhat irked Gin as they walked. Nothing terrible could happen, after all. It wasn't like there would be a whole lot of other trainers coming this way—it was rather musty, and Azalea was out of most peoples' ways anyway—and Pokémon attacks were fairly unlikely. Well, as long as they were careful, anyway, Gin thought, remembering the Ekans from the previous day.

Of course, that thought was cut of when Suishou gasped slightly. Gin turned around to see him backing up slightly, and a pair of rocky arms dug out of the ground. A Geodude then followed, and Gin assumed he'd just stepped on it by accident.

Gin started to reach for one of her Pokéballs. Suishou, however, fumbled for one of his own and released a Corsola.

"B-bubblebeam, Coro!" he stammered.

"So—la!" she cried, blasting the Geodude with a stream of bubbles.

The Geodude was shot back a few feet and collapsed. It was most likely almost knocked out, if not actually fainted. Suishou grinned in relief.

"Corso!" Coro chirped mischievously.

"Yeah, that was great, Coro!" Suishou said as he withdrew her.

"Hey… Not bad. When'd you get a Corsola, anyway?" Gin raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, right… I haven't used her in front of you yet." Suishou scratched the back of his neck. "Anyway, I've had Coro for a while… Since I was little."

"Really," Gin commented as they turned a corner. "Huh. That's longer than my dad had Midnight…"

"Well, um… Hey, Gin, what's that light up ahead?"

Gin squinted, and fairly far in the distance, a bit of light was pouring into the distance. She grinned over her shoulder.

"Cave exit, probably. I'm guessing we're about half through, so it'll take about an hour or so to get up there. Wanna see who's faster?"

She began to jog, and Suishou gasped in surprise. He hurriedly tried to keep up with Gin's large stride, and was soon out of breath.

"Gin…!"

"Ha! All right, all right!"

Gin slowed down slightly, allowing Suishou to almost catch up. She grinned as Suishou proudly came within a few feet of her, and then picked up her speed again. Sure, she had a bit of an advantage, but the competition would be good for him, Gin thought, grin widening as she focused on the cave exit…


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Vs Slowpoke!

_Author's Notes_: So. Azalea Town and all that jazz. Also, the first appearance of Team Rocket is here. And so is Kurt.

**Chapter Thirteen: Vs Slowpoke!**

"Hey, kiddo. You sure you're keeping up back there?"

"I-I'm fine!"

Gin and Suishou had finally arrived at the exit of Union Cave, and Suishou was slightly out of breath. Nodding and pretending to believe him, Gin quickened her pace slightly. Despite just coming out of a cave, the town ahead was surrounded by trees, and there was a small entry gap not far ahead.

Gin ducked under a tree branch, and stopped suddenly when she straightened up. No _wonder_ hardly anyone came through the area—not only was the town tiny, it was practically a jungle. The trees didn't only make up the town's border, but also lined the paths and grew out of pots in people's front yards. In the distance, the gym looked like a dome-shaped spider's web, and a very large well appeared to be the town's source of water.

"Gin? Hey, Gin?"

"Wh-what?" Gin grumbled.

"Do you think that well's big enough to walk into?"

Gin felt her eyebrow twitch. "Why would you do something like that?"

"I-I don't know."

Suishou sounded slightly let down, and Gin sighed. She looked over her shoulder at him, and eventually shrugged.

"Well, hey, I'm going to go check out the gym. Are you coming with?"

"Um, actually…" Suishou nervously crossed his arms behind his back. "I was thinking I kind of wanted to look around. C-can I?"

"I don't care," Gin shrugged. "Just don't get yourself lost. Meet me at the Pokémon Center later, got it?"

"Yep!" Suishou grinned.

Gin sighed and shook her head as she watched the redhead start to amble away. She quickly headed towards the gym, mumbling things under her breath.

"He's probably going to go straight towards that well…"

- - -

Suishou glanced over his shoulder a few times as he walked. Gin was already out of sight. It felt odd somehow not to be following the gray-haired girl, but then again…

A few steps later, Suishou was leaning on the side of the stone well, catching his breath. It rose out of the ground like a cellar, and it was pretty wide. Suishou could probably duck into it easily, and when he peeked around the edge of the entrance, he saw steps leading down. The actual water was probably deeper in than that and required some walking.

"It couldn't hurt… could it?"

Suishou thought aloud as he took several curious steps towards the well. After looking over his shoulder one more time, the boy went into the wide entrance, feeling the temperature drop as he descended the makeshift stairs…

- - -

"What? Closed? Whaddya mean, closed?"

Gin grumbled to herself as she stood in front of the web-shaped gym, arms folded over her chest. The wooden doors were locked, and an automated message had beeped out at her when she'd pressed the button on the buzzer, explaining that the Gym Leader was out.

"That would be that Bugsy kid, if I remember correctly," Gin sighed as she turned away. "Is he always out? That's gotta be horrid for the gym…"

She folded her hands behind her head as she started walking away from the gym, kicking angrily at the dirt path every so often. After a few minutes of aimless wandering (and tree dodging) Gin reached an odd little building that looked like it was modeled after some kind of berry.

"Kurt's Apricorn Shop?" Gin blinked as she read off of the sign near the door. "What the heck is this?"

She reached towards the door handle, but before she could open the door, it suddenly flew open for her. A short, middle-aged man in old-fashioned clothing had apparently been barreling out of the building, but skidded to a halt when he noticed Gin. He blinked, and then his eyebrows scowled.

"What is it?" he demanded.

"Hey, you're not the shopkeeper, are you? 'Cuz that would be _terrible_ for business," Gin frowned.

"Why you! Of course I'm Kurt! I've just got another priority right now!"

Gin blinked. "Wow. So what's so important that a guy like you would crawl out into daylight, anyway?"

Kurt's face turned a deep shade of red. "Kids these days! Are all of you so disrespectful? I'll have you know that the town's Slowpokes have been going missing for the past few weeks, and I'm going to the well to investigate!"

"That rickety thing? Why?"

"Because! Because my granddaughter's Slowpoke is one of the missing ones, and she saw some strange men near there the other day!"

"Hey, don't have a coronary on me. I just asked," Gin replied, rolling her eyes. Then she paused. "Wait a second. Strange men near the well?"

"That's what I just said, punk!"

"I wonder… Suishou might've… Okay, guy, I've decided. I've gotta go to the well, too," Gin announced.

"What?"

"Aha ha! Come on! We can't keep those poor ol' Slowpoke waiting, can we?"

With a very fake chipper grin on her face, Gin grabbed Kurt by the wrist and began marching back in the direction of the well. Sputtering in protest, Kurt stumbled along behind her, looking extremely confused.

- - -

"Um, Chi, use Razor Leaf! And, Oman, use Water Gun!"

Suishou nervously called out the attacks. The Chikorita and Omanyte quickly shot the attacks at the Koffing, and the black-clothed man growled. The Poison-type sank slightly, but still grinned.

Shortly after entering the well, Suishou had noticed a group of around four of the black-clad men with a group of Slowpoke. There had been a large pile of tails next to them, and despite a brief dizzy spell from that, Suishou had managed to shake himself out of it. Then, the men had noticed him and tried to shoo him out of the well, but due to a slightly off aim of Oman's Rock Slide, three of the four men had been knocked out with minor bruises.

The last of the four was now battling Suishou, trying to simply wear him out and make him go away. Suishou, however, gulped and went on.

"Smog!" the man cried.

"Vine Whip and Ancient Power!"

Koffing managed to float out of the way of Oman's rock attack, but due to this, it wasn't prepared for Chi's attack. The slender vines hit it dead on, and it almost fell to the ground. Chi, however, looked just as tired as Koffing, and she was panting slightly…

"Oh no… I don't have any Potions…" Suishou mumbled to himself. "I could withdraw Chi… But then Coro or Toto might get hurt too…"

Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed into the well.

"Hey, kiddo!"

- - -

Gin ducked into the well, Kurt still sputtering along behind her. Three men in black clothing were spread out on the well's floor next to a group of apparently knocked out Slowpoke. All three of the men were sporting various oddly-shaped bruises, apparently knocked out as well.

A few feet farther in, one of the group was still standing, a Koffing floating next to him. And, sure enough, standing across from him was a nervous Suishou, with a tired Chi and Oman.

"Hey, kiddo!" Gin called.

"G-Gin?"

Suishou blinked as he whirled around, and Gin reached for Midnight's Pokéball. Kurt threw an arm out to stop her.

"You don't know what you're doing!"

"Yes I do. Come on, Midnight! Help him out!"

The Sneasel materialized next to Gin and raised her claws. Ice crystals started to form on them, and Midnight started to dash forward. However, before she could reach the Koffing, and small vine struck her on the forehead. Midnight stumbled backwards, obviously more surprised than hurt.

"Snea?"

"Chika!"

Chikorita panted in protest, and turned towards the Koffing. Sweating slightly, she started to glow, and momentarily, a taller Pokémon with a leaf-covered neck appeared in her place.

"Bayleaf!" she cried.

Lowering her head, Chi charged towards the Koffing. When she reached it, she slashed upwards with the leaf on her head, striking Koffing on the side. The Poison-type seemed to deflate as it crashed to the ground, and its trainer growled as he withdrew it.

"Hey, you!" Gin called. "I don't know what the heck you're doing here… But give back the Slowpoke."

"Or what?" the man sneered.

"Oh, I don't know. I could do a lot of things," Gin replied casually, folding her arms across her chest. "Like, the old geezer here and I could tell the townspeople that you're extorting their tails. Or, I could just beat you to a pulp myself. Pokémon battles are nice and all, but obviously that one didn't get the point across."

"You…!" the man hissed. "Slowpoke tails grow back fast. What's the big deal?"

"You're doing it illegally, that's what," Kurt cut in.

"Hmph. We're Team Rocket, and we don't care about illegal! But if the town's got backup and our cover gets blown…" The man paused, and then leered. "Might as well find something a bit more profitable than Slowpoke tails. Do what you want with those losers over there. I'm outta here."

He dropped a smoke bomb, and after the smoke cleared, he was gone. Gin then withdrew Midnight and grabbed Suishou by the arm.

"Hey, that was pretty impressive, kid," she grinned. However, her grin suddenly faded. "But… I told you not to go down here! What if the old guy and I hadn't gotten here in time?"

"I-I'm sorry," Suishou mumbled.

"Hey! I'm not old! And don't make him apologize—he just helped get all of our Slowpoke located!" Kurt bellowed. "Now, you, punk! Help me get these Pokémon out of here."

"What? Why me?" Gin demanded.

"Because you're the one who stormed down here! Now hurry up. There aren't that many of them."

Gin grumbled under her breath as the three headed over towards the Slowpoke. As she picked up one of the Water-types, she swore a quick grin flashed across Suishou's face.


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Vs Metapod!

_Author's Notes_: Yay, Bugsy. I actually had a bit of trouble with him the first time I tried, because I chose Chikorita. However, I also found it odd that he still had Kakuna and Metapod (which really are this easy to beat…). Anyway, here's the chapter.

**Chapter Fourteen: Vs Metapod!**

"Gin? What's Team Rocket?"

Gin grumbled under her breath as she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. She'd just finished "helping" Kurt pull all of the Slowpokes from the well (more like carrying most of them herself). While there indeed hadn't been very many of them, they were _heavy_.

Suishou blinked at her as she paused. Gin then frowned as she looked over at him.

"Apparently, they were pretty big in Kanto recently," she shrugged, starting towards the Pokémon Center. "Their leader was some Gym Leader too, which caused this big stink when people found out. I heard a couple 'a kids beat 'em around, and the leader was so ashamed he hasn't shown himself since."

"R-really?" Suishou looked impressed. "How'd you know that? And why are they here now?"

"Heard from Kuro, and he heard from someone else he knows who's been to Kanto. He may be lazy, and annoying, but he's usually right. And as for your second question, they're probably just some remnants thinking they have something."

"Oh."

The pair went along in silence for a few minutes, having to dodge a few trees as the walked down the dirt trail. Eventually, Gin squinted, and she could see the gym in the distance.

"Hey, kiddo, I'm going back there," she said, gesturing towards the dome-shaped building. "It was closed a minute ago. Coming, or walking around again?"

"Coming! I want to watch."

"Whatever floats your boat, kid," Gin replied, shrugging.

Following the winding path, the pair quickly came to the dome-shaped building. Ringing the buzzer again, Gin grinned when the door automatically opened.

However, she soon scowled. The inside of the gym was just as much of a jungle as the town. Several potted plants laid around the green tiled floor, with (hopefully) fake spider webs spread between them. A few synthetic vines dropped down from holes in the ceiling like poles.

After a few minutes, Gin realized the gym was technically empty, even though the door had opened. Suishou looked just as confused as she did, although he was still looking around curiously. Impatiently, Gin stomped over to one of the vines.

"Hey! I'd like a Gym Battle sometime today!"

"Ah! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

A skinny purple-haired boy slid down the vine and dropped onto the floor. He grinned sheepishly as he dusted himself off and looked at Gin.

"Oh? I met you before, right?"

"In the Ruins of Alph, yeah," Gin confirmed, resisting the urge to wince at the memory of all the Unowns.

"You know him, Gin?" Suishou cocked his head to the side as he blinked.

"Sort of. Anyway, two-on-two, three-on-three, what?"

"Three-on-three sounds good!" Bugsy exclaimed. His eyes then fell to the two Pokéballs on Gin's belt. "Unless…"

"Nah, I'm _more_ than fine with two. Go ahead."

"Okay… Go, Metapod!"

"Heh. Come on, Midnight!"

As the green cocoon Pokémon materialized next to Bugsy, Gin released Midnight. The Dark-type stretched and looked at Gin mildly.

"Tackle, Metapod!" Bugsy cried excitedly.

"Ice Punch," Gin yawned.

Metapod inched forward, and then ducked and rolled forward towards Midnight. After waiting for it to get closer, Midnight stretched out her claws. Ice crystals formed on them, and she lashed out at the Bug-Type. It rolled backwards again, wincing.

"All right, finish it with Ice Beam," Gin grinned.

Midnight closed her eyes and stretched her arms to the sides. She slowly opened her mouth and shot an Ice Beam at Metapod. It was covered in a thin layer of ice, a look of surprise stuck on its face.

"Wow," Bugsy gasped, as he withdrew Metapod. "But… Kakuna's tougher!"

He then released a yellow cocoon Pokémon with narrow eyes. Midnight shrugged, and Gin's grin widened.

"Faint Attack!"

"Poison Sting, Kakuna!"

Midnight darted forward towards Kakuna, and the Bug-type paused. It then shot purple needles out of the spiky part of the front of its shell. Surprised, Midnight stumbled out of the way to dodge. Shaking her head, she dashed forward again and managed to crash into Kakuna. It tumbled backwards, but managed to get back up.

Kakuna shot another Poison Sting at Midnight, but she managed to dodge and darted towards it with another Faint Attack. This time, Kakuna didn't crawl back up, and Bugsy blinked.

"Usually… People get confused by Poison Sting…" He shook his head. "Well, I don't think you can beat Scyther!"

Bugsy released his Scyther, and it folded its blades across its torso impatiently. Gin remembered how well it had done at the Ruins of Alph, and that Midnight technically had a disadvantage on Bug-types as well. She shrugged, however, figuring she could get in a bit of damage before bringing in Theriolt.

"Try an Ice Beam, Midnight!"

"Quick Attack," Bugsy countered.

Midnight focused on Scyther as she shot out an Ice Beam again. However, Scyther darted to the side and then towards Midnight, crashing into her and knocking her down.

"Quick, use Slash!"

"Use Slash too, Scyther!"

Midnight managed to reach up and slash Scyther across its lower torso. Recoiling a bit, Scyther reached down and tried to slash Midnight as well. Its aim was a bit off, but it still cut her across the side.

"Now use Fury Cutter!"

Scyther quickly slashed at Midnight again, its scythes glinting and turning slightly green. Midnight tried to roll out of the way, but a second to late. The Bug-type delivered a double strike to her back, and she winced.

"Aw, not bad," Gin shrugged, withdrawing Midnight. "Anyway… I'll finish with Theriolt."

Gin's own Scyther materialized next to her, and she smirked. The two Scythers glared at each other for a moment, and Suishou blinked nervously behind Gin.

"Are they okay, Gin?"

"Of course," she breezed. "That's typical. Anyway, Theriolt, use Wing Attack!"

"Slash again, Scyther," Bugsy replied.

Theriolt dove forward, deliberately pausing near Scyther. As the other Bug-type reached out to strike, Theriolt grinned and darted behind it. While Scyther was confused, Theriolt appeared behind it, grinning as if to say, "Psyche!" He then flipped around, striking Scyther with his thin wings.

Scyther stumbled forward slightly, mostly out of surprise. Realizing that wasn't enough to KO it, Gin quickly came up with a new attack.

"Quick Attack and Slash!"

Theriolt darted forward to catch up to Scyther and crashed into it. He then raised his blade and slashed downward across its back, causing it to crumple. Gin sighed as it fainted.

"Freaked me out on the Wing Attack there, Theriolt."

"Scy!" he grinned.

Bugsy sighed as well as he withdrew his Scyther. "I almost thought I had you on Sneasel…"

"Well, you didn't," she smirked.

"Yeah… here."

Bugsy reached into his pocket, pulling out a round badge. He reached out his hand as he walked toward Gin.

"It's a Hive Badge!" he said, smiling suddenly as he gave it to her.

"Uh, why are you grinning like that?"

Gin raised an eyebrow as she clipped the badge onto the inside of her jacket. Bugsy sheepishly scratched the back of his neck.

"Well, I guess the battle was pretty cool. I learned some things! Like how to combine attacks."

"Really…" Gin murmured. "Whatever floats your boat. I gotta run, kid. Good luck, I guess. Hey, kiddo, come on."

Gin turned around towards the door, and Suishou and Bugsy blinked at each other for a moment. Suishou then scurried after Gin, and Bugsy blinked again.

"Wait…!"

"See ya."

Gin waved over her shoulder, and Suishou turned around to wave. Still confused, Bugsy waved back, and Suishou had to dart after Gin again as she hurried outside.

Sighing, Bugsy turned back to the vine he'd slid down earlier. As he jumped slightly and crawled back upstairs, he wondered why Gin was always in a hurry.


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Vs Oddish!

_Author's Note_: Oh, Ilex Forest… Less annoying than Viridian. And no, I'm not putting in the lost Farfetch'd. Chasing that thing around bugged me. A lot.

**Chapter Fifteen: Vs Oddish!**

"So. To get to Goldenrod, we've gotta go through Ilex Forest."

Gin slipped her Pokégear into her pocket as she and Suishou left the Pokémon Center. They'd stayed the night there, and Gin decided to get an early start on leaving Azalea.

Going back to Goldenrod could be a bit risky, she realized, frowning. True, it was highly doubtful that her grandparents or father were still actively looking for her after so long, but one could never be too careful. However, Goldenrod did have a gym, after all. Plus, anything would be better than looping back to Violet and going to Ecruteak…

"Gin?" Suishou asked curiously. "Are you okay?"

"Didn't I tell you I'm from Goldenrod, kiddo?" Gin raised an eyebrow. "Ah, well. Better hurry on up. Come on."

The pair ducked under a tree branch near the Pokémon Center's door as they curved through Azalea's winding trails. Eventually, a small, sapling-lined path led to a large gatehouse. _"Entering Ilex Forest"_ was posted on a sign near the door.

Gin shrugged, opening the small wooden door. A sleeping patrolman was sitting at the counter to one side, and Gin's ire was further raised. Suishou gulped slightly, and Gin rolled her eyes.

"Look, kid, just because the patrolman's an idiot doesn't mean the forest is unsafe. Coming?"

"Y-yeah."

Crossing the creaky wooden floor, Gin opened the opposite door slowly. As she ducked through, she blinked. The area had almost instantly become surrounded by trees, and she couldn't even see Azalea anymore through the thick branches. The canopy blocked most of the sunlight, and even though it was still pretty early in the morning, the sky looked dark.

"This place is like a maze…" Suishou gulped.

It was true; just from the forest's entrance, Gin counted at least three different winding trails. Shrugging, she took the straightest one and started walking.

"Well, we'll get through eventually, right? Might as well start with the shortest-looking one."

"O-okay."

Suishou surprisingly lapsed into silence instead of going with his usual stream of inquisitive questions. Gin sighed inwardly as she ducked under a tree branch. She reluctantly admitted that the kid was starting to grow on her. Either that or the silence just bugged her.

…She'd go with the second option.

After taking a slight turn to the left, Gin blinked as she stepped on something rather irregularly shaped. At first, she thought it was just a patch of weeds, but as she backed up a step or two, she noticed the leaves were growing out of a round blue object.

"Oddi?" a voice asked sleepily.

Staggering backwards slightly, the patch of weeds revealed itself to be an Oddish. It blinked curiously up at the two trainers, as if it wasn't quite used to seeing people. However, it didn't look quite as scared as some wild Pokémon could get.

"Just an Oddish," Gin sighed. "Let's keep—"

"An Oddish?" Suishou repeated. "I don't think Professor Elm has one yet…"

"Oh…"

Gin mumbled to herself as Suishou hesitantly took a Pokéball off of his belt. She suddenly realized it was his first time actually catching something; he'd had Coro already, and he'd gotten Chi, Toto, and Oman from Professor Elm.

"You weaken it first," Gin pointed out.

"But it already looks tired… And I don't wanna _hurt_ it," Suishou replied, eyes widening.

"Oh, never mind."

Gin sighed again as Suishou enlarged and threw the Pokéball. It turned out he was right. The ball barely twitched before locking shut, and Suishou smiled as he clipped the Pokéball back onto his belt.

"If it had been half as easy as that to catch Theriolt…" Gin grumbled.

"What, Gin?" Suishou grinned as he looked over at her.

"Nothing. Let's just hurry up, okay?"

Gin folded her arms across her chest as she took a few more steps forward. Suishou eagerly tagged along, managing to stay beside her now instead of behind her. Although this happened to be rather amazing in itself, Gin frowned, as the trees were getting closer together.

"We… We're not at a dead end, are we?"

Suishou looked around nervously as Gin tried to duck under another branch. She shook her head but didn't look over her shoulder at him.

"Probably not. The trees around Violet did this too. They got way close together before…"

After several moments of single-file walking, the pair stumbled into a large clearing with a small lake. Gin smirked as she looked over at Suishou. The redhead simply blinked at the surroundings, looking awed.

"Hey, what's up, kiddo?"

Suishou smiled but shook his head. "It's really pretty."

_That's all?_ Gin raised an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't comment. She then shrugged, figuring that he got out so little, he didn't have anything else to compare the forest to, and thus couldn't describe it very well.

"Oh well."

Gin took a few more steps forward, and frowned as she reached another fork in the path. One turned to the north, while the other turned to the south.

"Let's try the north one, kid," Gin called, bored, as she took the turn.

Suishou quickly caught up to her, but then lagged behind again as he looked around at everything. The trees seemed to be getting taller, casting longer shadows and showing broader tree trunks. Gin sighed; the atmosphere seemed a bit creepy in a way, but Suishou was too excited to notice.

The pathway curved a bit as the pair walked along, but at least there were no more forks in it. Eventually, they reached another clearing, and Gin grinned, leaning against a tree to catch her breath. Another gate house was visible in the distance, and Suishou looked relieved as well.

"Hey, we got lucky, huh?"

Gin's grin widened as she clapped Suishou on the shoulder. Surprised, he blinked up at her, and she jerked her head to the side, towards the gate house.

"Come on. Better sooner than later, right?"

Gin picked up her pace, and Suishou nearly had to jog to keep up with her long strides. Eventually, they managed to reach the building, and Suishou was out of breath when Gin opened the creaky door.

The gray-haired girl, however, stopped suddenly when they entered, causing Suishou to almost run into her. There was a small group of trainers gathered around the reception counter, and the gatekeeper had apparently just turned on the radio, as there was still a bit of static. Everything being broadcast was still fairly clear, though.

"_After n… a month… missing, police have declared… Shinu to be a lost case… Authorities have declared… legally missing…"_

The receptionist shook his head, turning off the radio. Groaning, the other trainers began to protest, but the man stuck the radio under the counter.

"I told ya it was an old thing," he muttered. "'Sides, it's seriously depressin' stuff, I tell ya. How a kid just goes up and missin' like that… It's beyond me."

"It was big for a day or two, though," a blue-haired boy frowned. "Like, right after she first left."

"Yeah, but it turned into a side story pretty quickly," a pink-haired girl went on. "It's kinda old now."

"Aw, I really wanna know if she ever gets found…"

"Didn't you just hear that? She's legally missing!"

"Did any of you know her?"

"I didn't, but I heard from someone else that she got into fights and stuff a lot…"

"Do you think that has anything to do with her being gone? Like she ran away?"

A vein in Gin's forehead pulsed as she listened to the conversation. She hadn't thought that running away would have such a big effect. But then again, Goldenrod was a pretty nice city, so something like a kid going missing would have attracted attention, even if only a little…

"Gin?"

Suishou whispered, fortunately, as he tugged on her sleeve. Sighing, Gin closed her eyes and took a deep breath, vowing not to punch anyone out in front of the redhead (she was sorely tempted to hit the last two idiots who'd spoken). Instead, she opened her eyes and took a few steps forward.

"Hey," she said loudly. "Don't you think if she wanted to be found by now, she would've been?"

The small group suddenly turned towards her, blinking collectively. Fortunately, if the news had shown any pictures of her, it would have been before her haircut and disguise, so none of them seemed to realize who she was.

"You… know something about this, guy?" one of the trainers asked, raising his eyebrow.

"No," Gin lied. "Just saying. Now, if you don't mind, we've gotta get on to Goldenrod."

"All right…" the gatekeeper sighed. "Be careful, now, ya hear?" 

"Yeah, yeah."

Gin rolled her eyes as she headed towards the exit door of the building. Suishou looked nervously at the other trainers as he and Gin left the gatehouse.

"That was pretty close, wasn't it?"

"Uh huh," Gin snorted. "Look… The sooner we get there, the sooner I'll be able to challenge the gym, and the sooner we can leave. Okay?"

"Um, okay."

Suishou seemed reluctant to take up the rushed tempo—he obviously still wanted to look around a bit. The area between Goldenrod and Ilex Forest was admittedly pretty nice to look at, but Gin didn't want to waste any time.

And yet, a large feeling of unease washed over her as she started to return to Goldenrod…


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Vs Eevee!

_Author's Note_: And we're finally back to Goldenrod! And Kuro gets to come back, for this chapter at least. Yay.

**Chapter Sixteen: Vs Eevee!**

Gin sighed. She and Suishou had been walking down the dirt path of Route 34, and it was slowly changing into the paved roads of the outskirts of Goldenrod City. Shaking her head, Gin quickly looked over her shoulder at Suishou.

"We're here, kiddo. Wanna stop for a bite somewhere before we look around? I know a couple good places."

Suishou's stomach growled loudly, and he blushed. Nodding, the redhead scampered after Gin as she began striding along the broad sidewalks of the city.

Gin folded her arms as they walked along the lamp-lit streets. With any luck, none of her relatives would be out at this time in the evening (it was nearly eight o'clock), and if they were… She'd just have to wing it, or hope that they'd given up on her.

Which, given Umi's frustrations over Gin, would not be an unlikely possibility.

Eventually, Gin reached one of her favorite restaurants. It was a small, surprisingly unassuming burger joint—but then again, "unassuming" in Goldenrod was still big compared to anything else. The familiar bell jingled over the door as she and Suishou entered.

A waiter languidly made his way over to the pair. "A table for two?"

"Sure," Gin shrugged.

She and Suishou followed the man over to a small table near the front of the dining area, where a pair of menus was already laid out. As they sat down, the man nodded slowly.

"I'll be back in a few moments to take your orders."

Gin sighed as the man trudged away. She didn't even need to look at the menu any more, as she'd been so often, but Suishou was looking at his own menu curiously.

"I… I've never actually eaten at a restaurant before…" he said, almost embarrassedly. "I mean, Professor Elm and I order take out sometimes, but…"

"Come on. With the way the lab is, I'm surprised you don't eat out more."

"You're not very inconspicuous, you know?"

Suddenly, a shadow fell over the table, and Gin scowled at the familiar voice. She looked up to see a tall, pale boy with long, black hair and gray eyes. A red, ripped-up trench coat covered his black T-shirt and pants, and he raked a hand through his hair, looking bored.

"Kuro. What are you doing here?"

"Just finished eating. You?"

Gin's scowl deepened, and Suishou looked confused. Kuro's answer was slightly more sarcastic than usual, but then again, it _had_ been an idiotic question. Furthermore, Suishou didn't know about Kuro covering for Gin, either…

"Never mind."

"Listen, Gin…" Kuro rested his hands on the table. "Don't tell me you've been around here this whole time?"

"I'm not that dumb!" she retorted.

"Hm. Didn't say that. If you had been, it would've taken a lot of good hiding to convince Mizu and Umi that you were actually missing, is all. And when'd you pick up the kid?"

"I told you not to mother-hen over me," Gin snorted. "And I 'picked up the kid' after I got my Pokédex."

"Does he have a name?"

Suishou blushed again, and Gin blinked. Of course, she hadn't forgotten he was there, but he'd been keeping an incredibly low profile the whole time.

"Suishou… Koi," Gin mumbled. After using "kid" or "kiddo" for so long, her mouth stumbled over his name.

"You haven't been too hard on him, have you?"

"What kind of stupid question is that?"

"Um," Suishou suddenly cut in. "No! I mean, er…" He looked a bit surprised that he'd spoken. "I mean, not at all."

"Yeah. Right. Me, nice?" Gin rolled her eyes. "Your version of nice is…"

Kuro raised a hand slightly. "Never mind, Gin. Let him think you're not awful. And speaking of kids…"

"You don't have any kids! Do you?"

A very light frown crossed Kuro's normally stoic features. He then shook his head and shrugged nonchalantly.

"In a way… Houndoom and Umbreon had an egg, see."

"You want me to carry around an egg for you? You really are a bum! I can't believe I said I'd miss—" Gin exploded. She then gave a sidelong glance to Suishou, sighed, and stopped her rant. "Ahem. Anyway, why are you making me carry this thing around for you?"

"No, it's already hatched. Just a couple days after you left, so she's about a month old."

"So… You want me to watch a _baby_ Eevee for you then. That's _worse_ than an Eevee egg."

"Gin, I already have six Pokémon. Umi won't let me keep her. And she doesn't know you're here."

"Please, Gin?"

Gin blinked. Suishou had come in as well, and his eyes were wide as he pleaded. Grumbling to herself, Gin looked back at Kuro and nodded.

"Okay…"

"Good."

Kuro clipped a Pokéball off his belt and pressed the release button. The tiny Eevee materialized on Gin's lap, and she stared up at her curiously. She then curled right up on Gin's lap and dozed off.

"See! Eevee already likes you!" Suishou grinned.

"_Like_? I think it's more like she's making fun of me," Gin scowled. "Kuro!"

"Don't worry. She seems to do that to everyone. I'm sure she'll grow out of it."

Kuro then set the Pokéball down on Gin's table and leaned forward slightly. Gin stiffened as he whispered, "I knew it. The kid's already got an effect on you, doesn't he?"

"Shut up!" Gin glared.

"Gin?"

Suishou blinked, and Gin started. She'd forgotten that he obviously couldn't have heard what Kuro had just said, and tried to look casual.

"It's nothing."

She quickly grabbed Eevee's Pokéball and recalled the still-sleeping Normal-type. Scowling, she looked back at Kuro.

"Well?"

"Well, what?" he replied.

"Is that all?"

Kuro chuckled dryly under his breath. "I suppose you don't need me anymore?"

"What are you talking about?" Gin raised an eyebrow.

"Hm. Nothing. Be careful, Gin."

"I _have_ been! And I told you not to worry about it."

"All right, then."

Kuro straightened his coat slightly, and then silently headed for the door. The bell jingled as he walked out, and Gin shook her head, trying to get the ding out of her ears.

"Gin? What was that all about?"

"I suppose it was all to get a place for Eevee," Gin sighed. She then smiled, however. "But… If Umi doesn't like Eevee… Then it's all the better to keep her!"

"O-Oh…"

Gin smirked. "Umbra'd be a good name. She's pretty much a shadow, after all…"

"Excuse me. Are you ready to order?"

The waiter had just returned, and he was holding a large note stack and pencil. Gin instantly brightened, forgetting about Kuro and Umbra. Who wouldn't when there was food to be eaten?

"Fries and a burger, and a kid's meal for him," Gin shrugged.

"All right. I'll leave you your receipt after you are finished dining."

The man left to go to the kitchen in the back, and Suishou blinked.

"Kids Meal?"

"Well, you are younger than me, right?"

"I'm, uh, fifteen."

"Huh. Thought you'd be younger than that. Anyway, the food here is really good, but really expensive too, so…"

Needless to say, when Gin got the huge bill, she was not quite surprised.


	18. Chapter Seventeen: Vs Miltank!

_Author's Notes_: …I think Whitney's seriously my least favorite Gym Leader ever. The Clefairy-shaped Gym and stupid Miltank don't help at all. Anyway, yes, Miltank really is this hard to beat (at least for me anyway).

**Chapter Seventeen: Vs Miltank!**

"Gin? That was your brother, right?"

Gin sighed. The pair had just finished eating, and on the way out of the restaurant, Suishou was still curious about Kuro.

"Yeah. That was Kuro, all right. Why?"

"Do you guys always fight like that?"

Gin stifled a laugh as she closed the restaurant's door behind her. "Trust me, kiddo, that was nowhere near fight level. But usually he just doesn't care enough to fight, even if I wanted to."

"O-oh."

As the pair turned away from the building, Gin stretched and yawned. She then turned to Suishou, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"The gym's just down the street from here. Are you coming, or are you going to go wander around again?"

"I… I want to look around," Suishou replied.

"Okay. Just meet me at the Pokémon Center in time for dinner, got it?"

"All right!"

Suishou grinned as Gin nodded. The gray-haired girl took a few steps forward, but looked back over her shoulder at Suishou.

"And don't get lost, okay?"

"…All right!"

"Then what was that pause for this time?" Gin muttered under her breath, picking up her pace slightly…

* * *

Suishou hesitantly walked forward a few more steps. He'd just taken another turn, and wasn't quite sure where he was going. Goldenrod was easily more than twice the size of New Bark Town, and he was a bit scared by the size of the city.

However, he soon saw a tall, obsidian building with tinted windows that had several antennas set on the top. Suishou curiously started walking faster, and when he got close enough to the building, he saw a sign reading "Goldenrod Radio Tower."

"I wonder if Gin's ever been here?"

Suishou wondered aloud as he opened the sliding glass doors of the tower. He entered into a large lobby, with several PCs in the corner and a reception counter in the front. A small card on the counter read "_Receptionist on lunch break—come back later for assistance_."

However, beside that was another card listing the layout of the tower. The second floor was listed as "_Radio Talk and Prize Shows, live broadcasting_."

"Live?" Suishou blinked. "And… I've never heard a prize show before…"

The redhead quickly walked up the staircase in the back of the room, eager to find out what was going on, and hoping he wasn't interrupting anything too major. As he arrived upstairs, he saw several cubicles, where different groups of people were recording shows. The group closest to him seemed to be missing a member, though, as the blue-haired woman who looked like the host was looking around anxiously.

"We can't start recording until Justin gets here!"

"But Justin's always late!" another girl cried.

"I heard he had an allergic reaction at lunch," a man commented.

"But… What will we do then?"

"It's all right, Buena. Justin may be fine. And if he's not, we can always find a guest or an extra to fill in for him…"

The man's cell phone suddenly rang, and he picked it up. After several "Okay" and "Uh-huh" remarks, he hung up and sighed.

"Yeah. He got sick earlier and his doc told him to stay at home the rest of the day."

"Oh…" Buena, the host, looked dejected.

However, she then looked up and spotted Suishou. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but at the same time, he'd wanted to know what was going on. Nervously, he took a step back, hoping Buena wasn't angry.

"Aha! Excuse me, but would you mind filling in for us?"

"Um, me?" Suishou gasped.

"Of course!" Buena winked. "I'll even give you a special reference when the show starts! What's your name, sweetie?"

"Uh… Suishou Koi, ma'am."

"Great! Sit down and join us, Suishou. Today we're running a prize show on Pokémon evolutions. All right, Mike, hook up our headphones, will you?"

* * *

Gin grinned as she arrived at the gym. She'd passed it so many times on her way to the Underground or Department Store, but she'd never had a chance to challenge it until now. Admittedly, though, the gym was a cliché white and pink box, not to mention surrounded by "cute" flowers and plants.

Sighing, Gin leaned into the white-washed door to open it. Turning the knob, she blinked as she entered the gym. It looked even smaller from the inside than it did from the outside, and the white linoleum was blinding. To top it off, the tile merged into pink in the middle of the room, forming a vaguely Clefairy-shaped battling area.

"…Perfect," Gin muttered.

A small pink bell was hanging near the door, and a sign below it read, "_Ring for service_." Quirking an eyebrow, Gin rang the bell anyway, but promptly winced; the bell rang in a singsong Clefairy voice.

Suddenly, a small pink door opened in the back of the room. A short pink-haired girl in a white T-shirt and shorts scurried out, pouting—what a perfect look for a Gym Leader. Gin rolled her eyes. Despite the fact that she'd never gone to the gym, even she could recognize Whitney, Goldenrod's Gym Leader

"Aww, I was about to reapply my mascara! But… Maybe… It's okay if you're here for a Gym Battle!"

"Of course that's what I'm here for," Gin replied, trying to bite back the sarcasm in her voice.

"Yay! I love battles! I always win!"

Gin rolled her eyes as Whitney clapped excitedly. The shorter girl then tapped her finger to her chin thoughtfully.

"But isn't it rude for a boy to ask for a battle without knowing the girl's name?"

_Another mistake… But I guess that's what I was going for_, Gin mentally sighed. "I am already aware of your name and occupation, obviously, or else I wouldn't bother keeping up this conversation. You're Whitney, the Gym Leader, and you train Normal-Type Pokémon. But if it makes you feel better, I'll introduce myself. I'm Gin Shinu."

"Wow… You really have a big voco—vocabulary," Whitney gasped, stumbling over the word. "But I bet I can still beat you! Let's have a two-on-two battle!"

"All right," Gin smirked. "Bring it."

Whitney giggled and reached for a Pokéball. "I'll start with Clefairy!"

Gin groaned as the pink fairy Pokémon materialized next to Whitney. How much more pink could this girl get? Frowning, Gin decided to contrast the colors slightly and chose Midnight.

"Come on, Midnight."

The Sneasel appeared next to Gin and cocked her head to the side as she looked at Clefairy. Whitney gasped again, but shook out of it quickly.

"I know, let's use Metronome, Clefairy!"

"Midnight, use Quick Attack."

Clefairy closed its eyes and began ticking its fingers back and forth. Then its eyes opened suddenly, and it blasted a Flamethrower at Midnight. She quickly darted to the side and then dashed into Clefairy, knocking it over.

"All right, now get it with Fury Swipes."

Midnight slashed forward with her claws, scratching Clefairy's side. She then flipped over Clefairy and scratched it several more times.

The Normal-type winced, but managed to get back up. It then wagged its fingers again, albeit a bit weakly, for another Metronome. This time, Clefairy launched a Rock Throw. Midnight managed to duck out of the way of most of the rocks, but one of them struck her in the stomach. Midnight tumbled backwards, but quickly got back up, panting slightly.

"Come on, Midnight! You can finish it. Use Aerial Ace!"

Nodding, Midnight dashed forward and jumped into the air. She then dove down at Clefairy, ramming into it and sending it skidding. Clefairy rolled over, closing its eyes as it fainted.

"No way!"

Whitney's pout grew even bigger as she withdrew Clefairy. She looked just about to cry, but then she apparently remembered that she had another Pokémon left.

"So, you beat Clefairy. But Miltank is really, really strong, okay?"

Whitney released a large, pink, cow-like Pokémon. Gin winced again at the over-use of pink, but sighed and shook her head.

"Use Slash, Midnight."

Whitney giggled. "Use Body Slam, Miltank!"

Midnight lashed out with her claws, managing to strike Miltank. However, the cow Pokémon recovered and flopped forward, knocking Midnight to the floor. As Miltank got up and dusted itself off slightly, Midnight collapsed, fainted.

"R-ridiculous!" Gin muttered, recalling the Sneasel. "Midnight lost to _that_ thing?"

"Miltank's not a thing! Miltank's a Pokémon!" Whitney cried.

"…Oh, never mind."

Gin rolled her eyes as she reached for another Pokéball. Using Umbra probably wouldn't be a good idea just yet, so she grabbed Theriolt's Pokéball instead.

"All right, I'll go with Theriolt."

The Scyther materialized next to Gin, smirking slightly impishly as he appeared. Gin matched his grin as she decided on an attack.

"Okay, use Steel Wing!"

"Tee hee… Use Roll Out, Miltank!"

Theriolt's thin wings glittered and hardened slightly as he darted towards Miltank. He then flipped over it and crashed downwards, his wings striking the Normal-type. Miltank stumbled forward, but seemed to purposely land on its side. It then started to roll and barreled towards Theriolt.

"Scy!"

Theriolt cried out in surprise as Miltank crashed into him. He tried to flip over it again, but Miltank was starting to roll faster. It crashed into him again before he had time to move, and the Bug-type skidded forward, collapsing on the floor in front of Gin.

"What the…?"

Gin glared at Miltank as she withdrew Theriolt. Had she just _lost_ because of a giant _cow_? Whitney giggled yet again as she withdrew said cow.

"See! See! I really can fight better than you!"

"I. Was. So. Stupid," Gin growled, slapping a palm to her forehead.

"Aww, don't worry too much, Mr. Gin," Whitney crooned. "Lots of people lose to me!"

"Oh, yeah. That helps _so much_. Look, just be prepared to lose tomorrow when I come back, okay?"

"You're perspiring, er, persistent, too," Whitney commented. "Okay! It'll be fun winning tomorrow too!"

Whitney waved and winked as she returned to her back room. Gin considered strangling herself with her tie as she left as well. The girl was clueless, annoying, whiny, and criminally pink—how in the world had she been able to become a Gym Leader anyway?

Grumbling, Gin folded her arms over her chest and went on back to the Pokémon Center…

* * *

"And our final question! Poliwhirl can evolve into Politoed with which of the following items: Water Stone, King's Rock, or Metal Coat?"

"Oh, that's King's Rock!"

"Perfect! Another point for Suishou Koi, who turns out to be our winner! Tune in next time for a Baby Pokémon quiz!"

"And cut!"

Mike, the equipment manager, clicked off the headphones and microphones. Suishou and the other two members of the show grinned as Buena stood up.

"Wow! We hardly ever have guests win! Are you sure that was your first prize show?"

"Um, yeah," Suishou replied, blushing.

"Well, either way, you deserve something fabulous! Here, I'll reward you with this gift card. It's a 500 Poké card for that burger joint near the gym."

As Suishou took the card, he stood up and grinned. "Wow, thanks, Buena!"

"No problem, sweetie!" Buena winked. "Be sure to stop by again next time you're around here."

"Okay!"

Suishou waved as he left the cubicle. Going back downstairs, he looked at the card more carefully, and blinked. It was for the exact same place he and Gin had eaten lunch.

"Oh well! Maybe I can give it to her. She said she eats there a lot. I bet she won anyway!"

Suishou grinned as he left the Radio Tower, heading towards the Pokémon Center…

* * *

"Hi, Gin!"

Gin frowned slightly as Suishou entered the Pokémon Center. The redhead looked extremely excited about something, but his grin faded when he saw her scowl. She still hadn't gotten her Pokémon back from the nurse, and was a bit cranky about her loss earlier.

"Um, Gin? What's wrong?"

"I lost," she mumbled.

"Oh. Um… If it makes you feel better, I just got a gift card to that place we ate lunch. We can eat dinner there!"

Gin almost sighed, but then nodded. "All right."

"Yay!"

A small smile tugged at the corner of Gin's mouth as Suishou cheered. It was only too bad that they'd probably end up eating there for lunch the next day, too…


	19. Chapter Eighteen: Vs Clefairy!

_Author's Note_: …More of that stupid pink cow (and by that I mean Miltank, obviously). Anyway, Umbra gets to be cool, at least…

**Chapter Eighteen: Vs Clefairy!**

"Gin? You're going to fight Whitney again, right?"

The gray-haired girl sighed as she and Suishou left the burger joint again. They'd just finished off dinner and were heading back to the Pokémon Center, and Suishou had started popping questions as usual.

"Yeah. I'm probably going to have to use Umbra."

"But… You haven't used her yet, right?"

"So? Whitney won't know what's going on either."

_But then again, who's to say she knew what was going on earlier, either_? Gin added silently.

"Oh. Okay."

After a few turns, the pair arrived at the Pokémon Center, and Gin sighed as she slid open the glass door. It wasn't all that late yet, but she was more than ready to turn in. If she got up early enough the next day, after all, she could hurry up and re-challenge Whitney. The sooner she got the badge, the sooner she could leave Goldenrod.

"Hey, kiddo. Ya wanna turn in already?"

"Huh?" Suishou looked surprised that Gin was suggesting going to sleep already, but then he nodded. "Yeah, sure!"

"All right, then."

Gin turned towards the hallway to the common room, and Suishou followed after her. As they walked, Gin sighed, thinking about the battle earlier. It was pretty embarrassing, losing to someone like Whitney, she thought. However, she could probably still do a lot of damage to Clefairy with Midnight, and the surprise Miltank with Umbra.

Grinning as she took one of the provided sleeping bags, Gin settled on that plan. She and Suishou set up their sleeping bags near the back of the room, and while Suishou instantly crawled into his, Gin just flopped down on top of hers. However, she soon fell asleep anyway, still smirking confidently.

* * *

The next morning, Gin crunched on a piece of toast in the Pokémon Center's cafeteria, bored. She'd woken up before Suishou, as usual, and had gone on to get breakfast. She paced around absently near the breakfast line, not really hungry but considering grabbing another slice anyway.

"H-hi, Gin…"

Suddenly, a yawning Suishou appeared in the cafeteria's doorway, rubbing his eyes. The tired redhead snagged a slice of toast as well, not bothering to butter it as if he could tell Gin was getting impatient.

"Hey, kid. Are you going to be ready soon?"

"Y-yeah," he yawned again. "I think."

"Good."

Gin leaned against the wall nearby as Suishou hurriedly ate his toast. When he finished, he quickly followed Gin out of the cafeteria to the lobby. As the exited, Gun yawned herself—it was starting to get contagious.

"Great. Anyway, are you coming or not?"

"I'll come!"

"All right."

Gin sighed as she and Suishou wound around Goldenrod's busy streets. That was the third time he'd wanted to watch one of her gym battles, but at least he hadn't wanted to watch yesterday, when she'd lost. Soon, Gin arrived at the too pink gym again, frowning as Suishou looked around excitedly.

"Hey, I'm going in."

"W-wait!"

Suishou darted after her as she opened the door. Sighing again, Gin rang the little pink bell near the doorway. Moments later, Whitney scurried out of her room, giggling.

"Back already? Wow! You must like losing."

"Whatever. Can we just start now?"

"All right, but don't say I didn't warn you! I'll start with Clefairy again."

Whitney released the fairy Pokémon, and Gin quickly reached for Midnight's Pokéball. The Dark-Type materialized next to Gin, stretching and then flexing her claws.

"All right, Clefairy, let's use Metronome!"

Gin frowned. "See what happens, and then use Bite."

Clefairy closed its eyes and wagged its fingers, and then suddenly launched a Pin Missile. The air around it formed several stiff needles that shot at Midnight, but the Sneasel easily ducked out of the way. Then, Midnight darted forward and clamped down on Clefairy's arm. She swung her head and sent the Normal-type flying backwards.

Whitney gulped, but Clefairy managed to get back up. It used Metronome again, wagging its fingers as usual. This time, Clefairy started forming a Shadow Ball.

"Use Dig, Midnight."

Just as Clefairy managed to launch the attack, Midnight dug into the apparently weak flooring of the gym. The Shadow Ball grazed over Midnight's hiding spot and hit the wall, causing a small char mark. Several seconds later, Midnight surfaced near Clefairy, ramming into it and knocking it over.

Eyes watering slightly, Whitney withdrew the fainted Pokémon. "C-Clefairy! And my floor!"

"Hpmh. You really need to change it anyway."

"But Gin," Suishou whispered. "You're still the one that did it. Doesn't that mean…"

"Never mind that, kiddo," Gin cut him off. "Anyway, Whitney, let's go on."

"R-right," Whitney sniffled. "Okay, come on out, Miltank!"

Whitney released the cow Pokémon, and Gin groaned. It would probably KO Midnight again, but she at least needed to cause some damage to it…

"Midnight, let's try an Ice Beam."

Midnight closed her eyes as she shot the Ice Beam at Miltank. Gin grinned as Miltank was frozen to the floor from the legs down.

"Good, now use Slash!"

"Strength, Miltank!"

Midnight darted forward, lashing out with her claws to strike Miltank. She managed to slash it across the side, but Miltank suddenly reached back with its fist and struck Midnight surprisingly hard. The Dark-Type tumbled backwards and landed next to Gin, already knocked out.

"All right, that's all, Midnight," Gin sighed, but she smiled slightly anyway as she withdrew Midnight. "Okay, let's go, Umbra!"

As Gin released the Eevee, Whitney squealed, prompting a flinch from the gray-haired girl.

"Oh, it's so cute! I want one! Hey, wait, you didn't use Eevee yesterday!"

"Well, duh," Gin snorted. "You expected me to use Theriolt, and _definitely_ lose again? Umbra, use Iron Tail!"

"Eev," Umbra replied, rolling her eyes, but sauntered over to the half-frozen Miltank anyway. She then leapt up slightly and flipped around, her tail hardening and glittering. Umbra's tail struck Miltank squarely on the chin, and the larger Normal-type mooed angrily and it held its face in pain.

"All right, Quick Attack and Tackle!"

"Um, hurry, Miltank! Use Strength again!"

Umbra quickly ran forward, and Miltank tried to raise its fist to strike again. However, Umbra ducked out of the way, darting behind Miltank. She then jumped up, crashing into its back. The force caused it to fall forward, cracking the ice around its feet as it toppled to the floor with a large thump.

"See? Told you," Gin smirked triumphantly as Umbra darted back to her.

"You… You… You're mean!" Whitney wailed, withdrawing Miltank as she burst into sobs. "I… I don't wanna give you a badge! Jerk!"

"Wh-what?" Gin glared. "Then what was the point of that? Why even bother having a gym if—"

"Um, Gin, hold on, please," Suishou interjected, looking embarrassed for interrupting. He then walked over to Whitney and knelt down next to her—she'd sank to her knees and was still crying. "Excuse me. Can Gin please have a badge?"

"Y-you can have one," Whitney sniffled. "You're nice."

"Okay. Thanks!"

Suishou took the small round badge that Whitney pulled from her pocket. As he walked back over to Gin, she resisted the urge to groan and smack her palm to her forehead.

"What just happened?"

"I don't really get it either," Suishou whispered.

Suddenly, however, Whitney's sobs receded into hiccups, and she slowly stood back up. "Ah, that was a good cry, though. Come back again, okay?"

"Now I'm really confused," Gin grumbled. Aloud, she said, "Right. Whatever floats your boat."

"Huh? Boat? I don't have a boat…" Whitney frowned.

"It's an expre—oh, never mind. Bye."

"Bye, Whitney!"

"Bye, guys!"

Suishou waved, but Gin quickly walked towards the door, scowling. The redhead had to dash to keep up with her, and grinned sheepishly as he handed her the Plain Badge. Sighing, Gin clipped the badge into the inside of her jacket.

She still didn't quite get what the deal was with Whitney, though, as she opened the door to leave.


	20. Chapter Nineteen: Vs Quilava!

_Author's Note_: Short chapter, sort of… Kin's back for a few minutes though. And yes you are reading right about Suishou.

By the way, though… Normally Gin wouldn't win this easily on a type disadvantage, but… We all know Kin doesn't really know what he's doing. So, yeah.

**Chapter Nineteen: Vs Quilava!**

"There's a shortcut around the park near here…"

Gin beckoned over her shoulder to Suishou, and the redhead scampered after her towards the tree-lined path she indicated. They'd just left Goldenrod's Pokémon Center and had headed towards the end of town. Fortunately, while the city was large, its edges faded into suburbs rather abruptly, and the pair had arrived on Route 35 easily.

The gray-haired girl ducked under a low-hanging tree branch, but Suishou barely had to duck at all as they walked. Although for once, Suishou was rather quiet instead of curious.

"Hey, what's up, kid?"

"Oh…" Suishou shook his head, as if Gin had just interrupted a thought. "This goes back to Violet… right?"

"Yeah, it does. Why?"

"Um…"

Gin paused after they took another turn. The path forked up ahead, and Gin knew that instead of going to the right, she could take the left path instead and head to Ecruteak. However, Suishou looked rather anxiously at the junction.

Slightly irritated, Gin opened her mouth to start talking. However, before she could say a word, a ringing noise sounded out of Suishou's pocket.

"Oh, um, my Pokégear," he said sheepishly.

Suishou slowly pulled the oval device out of his pocket and flipped it open. Gin curiously peered at the screen as he hit the select button to take the call.

"Ah, hello, Suishou!"

Professor Elm grinned brightly on the other end of the line as Suishou answered. The redhead grinned back as he answered.

"Hi, Professor Elm! How's the lab?"

"Well… That's not important at the moment," Professor Elm replied hastily, scratching the back of his neck.

_That probably means it got messier or something_, Gin sighed inwardly.

"Anyway, what I wanted to call you about is Omanyte. How's he doing?"

"Oh, Oman's great, Professor! I think he gets along pretty well with my other Pokémon, and I even got to use him in battle once."

"Excellent," Professor Elm smiled. "Can I see him?"

"Yeah, I have his Pokéball right here…"

Suishou was still grinning as he started to take Oman's Pokéball off of his belt. However, on the screen, the professor shook his head and sighed apologetically.

"No, Suishou… I meant I'd _actually_ like to see him. It's quite rare that we get a fossilized Pokémon, so I'd like to get a more detailed analysis of his progress."

"But…"

Suishou looked disheartened as he glanced over at Gin. The gray-haired girl blinked, and then shrugged and shook her head.

"Look, kiddo, it's no big deal. I can walk you there if you really want me to."

"Oh, no, Gin, I don't think that's necessary, but thank you for the offer. I'm sure it'd take you a while to—"

"But we're near Violet…" Suishou trailed off.

"It's still about a day away, and I appreciate Gin looking after you all this time. See you this evening, Suishou?"

"Yeah… See you this evening."

Suishou clicked off his Pokégear, and swallowed as he put it back in his pocket. He blinked as he looked over at Gin again.

"Um, Gin, thanks for taking me with you for so long and…"

"Hey, whoa, don't cry! I could at least take you back to Violet. It's only about half an hour from here, you know."

Suishou shook his head. "I'll be okay, I think. I'm pretty sure I remember how to get back to Cherrygrove from there."

"_Pretty sure_?" Gin repeated dubiously.

"Um, yeah. Besides, you probably want to hurry on to Ecruteak anyway."

"Yeah, I do," Gin admitted. "Good luck, kid, okay? Don't do anything stupid."

"O-okay."

"Aw, come on, I didn't mean it that way," Gin sighed, rolling her eyes.

"I know…"

Suishou rubbed his eyes as he started to turn away. He then looked back at Gin, however, his eyes slightly red.

"Um… Do you think… Sometime, if I get to leave again, I could go with you again?"

Gin blinked. "I… I guess. But you better be stronger by then, got it?"

"G-got it!"

Suishou then turned away, taking the path towards Violet and slowly disappearing, still glancing over his shoulder every so often. Gin sighed, leaning against a nearby tree and smacking a palm to her forehead.

"Ridiculous. Why do I feel horrid all of a sudden?"

- - -

"Snea?"

"Yeah. Whatever."

"Sel."

Gin had released Midnight shortly after Suishou had left, and the pair was slowly taking the path towards Ecruteak. The junction was only a few feet behind them, and Midnight was looking curiously at Gin as she slashed through some difficult undergrowth with her claws. However, Gin was barely looking at the Sneasel and giving her rather short, impatient answers.

"Snea—"

"Hey! It's you!"

Gin sighed, resting her head in one hand as she turned around. Now was really not the time, she thought, feeling a headache coming on.

Needless to say, the migraine worsened as she looked up. A vaguely familiar dark-haired boy was several yards away, one hand on his hip as he pointed at her. Gin's eyes ached slightly as she looked as his overly bright attire—a red bandanna and T-shirt, and an obnoxiously yellow vest and pair of shorts, topped off with a pair of soccer socks and a single, fingerless black glove.

"Do I know you?" she groaned.

"Yes! You do! My name is Kin Hi. You're Gin Shinu, that guy who was hanging around Suishou when he was in Violet, and—hey! Where is Suishou, anyway?"

Gin folded her arms across her chest and sighed again. "Not here. What's it to you?"

"I can't believe you'd ditch him like that," Kin started, frowning.

"…No. Professor Elm asked him to come back. What're you doing out here, anyway?"

"Still training," Kin responded smugly. "I've already got _four_ Pokémon. I just caught a Mareep and a Growlithe, and my Cyndaquil evolved into Quilava a little while ago."

"That's nice. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get to Ecruteak," Gin said dismissively.

"No way! I wanna battle! Your Sneasel's right there!"

"Sel?" Midnight blinked.

Gin scowled. She really didn't have time for this.

"Okay. Whatever. How about a nice little one-on-one? Midnight versus your Quilava."

"All right!" Kin grinned a bit too excitedly as he reached for his Pokéball. "Come on, Spark."

The fire mouse materialized next to Kin, raising himself onto his back legs and looking around, equally eagerly as his trainer. Gin cleared her throat, gesturing to Midnight. Leaping forward, Midnight landed in front of Gin, raising her claws towards Spark.

"Flame Wheel, Spark!"

"Faint Attack."

Spark lowered himself back onto all fours, his head and tail flames growing slightly. He charged forward, embers bursting around him. However, Midnight dashed away almost too quickly too be seen, and Spark stopped abruptly in surprise. Suddenly, Midnight reappeared behind the Fire-Type, crashing into him and sending him tumbling towards Kin.

"Okay, easy enough. Finish with Slash."

Midnight raised one of her claws and slashed downwards, scratching Spark across the side. He winced and crumpled, eyes closing weakly. Kin blinked, and then scowled as he recalled Spark.

"Hey! That's not fair!"

"That's life, kiddo."

"Hey, what? Don't talk to me like I'm a kid! I bet I'm older than you!"

"Sixteen. You?"

"…Crap," Kin mumbled. "Same age. Hey! Wait! That doesn't mean—"

"I don't care. I told you, I have places to go. Train some more."

Gin promptly turned around and ducked under a tree branch, Midnight following closely behind her. Kin stood agape, eventually shaking his head and trying to call after her.

"But—I—"

However, Gin was already too far away to hear him. The black-haired boy sighed, folding his hands behind his back as he looked down.

"Not fair at all… Mom won't let me come home until I get stronger because I forgot to call her back when I left… Dad's on her side… And Hikaru's just going to laugh at me. Maybe… I can try Goldenrod?"

With that, Kin somewhat dejectedly kicked the dirt path and took a left instead of going straight towards Ecruteak. He then brightened up, however. Maybe if he earned a badge from Goldenrod's gym, he'd be able to finally have something over Hikaru…


	21. Chapter Twenty: Vs Misdreavus!

_Author's Note_: I like Morty a lot more than Whitney. However this is one of the only Gym Leaders where I'm altering the team. I thought it was weird that Morty didn't have a Misdreavus... (I have Gym Leader trainer cards in my profile now, by the way.) And this chapter's shorter than normal.

Oh, and Parrot-san picked up on something important. Gin uses "kid" and "kiddo" as somewhat derogatory terms, just for reference… You'll notice she only called Suishou by name when introducing him to Kuro.

**Chapter Twenty: Vs Misdreavus!**

"What is this place supposed to be?"

Gin stopped short, muttering rhetorically to herself. She'd just passed a gap in the trees on Route 37, and arrived in what looked to be a small town. The houses were all wooden and vaguely reminded her of old shrines. In the distance, she could see a tall, pagoda-style tower on one end of town, and on the other end there was a much shorter tower that looked like it had been burned out at one point.

The whole area had a mystic feel to it, and Gin rolled her eyes slightly as she pulled her Pokégear out of her pocket. Selecting the map function, Gin frowned. A small, blinking icon was resting on an area labeled "Ecruteak City."

"_This_ is Ecruteak City?" Gin scowled, putting her Pokégear back in her pocket. "Looks more like some kind of spiritual haven if you ask me. What are those towers for, anyway?"

"They're relics… to legendary Pokémon…"

The voice was so quiet that Gin doubted that she'd heard it at first. Frown deepening, she turned to her left and took a few steps, spotting a larger wooden building that looked like a temple.

A slim blonde man was leaning against one of the pillars, his unruly hair partially pushed back by a blue headband. His arms were crossed against his dull-blue-sweater-clad chest, and his eyes were closed. A Misdreavus floated next to him, looking equally focused on something other than Gin.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gin snorted. "How long have you been there, anyway? Who are you?"

The man's eyes opened slowly. "Morty… I'm the Gym Leader…"

Gin put a hand on her hip, rolling her eyes. "For some reason, I was hoping for someone a bit more convincing."

"Are you… disappointed? I suspect… you weren't impressed by Whitney, were you… Gin Shinu?"

"Hey, what? How'd you know I just fought Whitney? And I don't think I introduced myself!"

Morty chuckled, although not meanly, as his Misdreavus opened its eyes and nodded slowly. As it turned to him, Morty nodded as well.

"It's psychic power… You said it yourself when you arrived… There _are_ many spirituals here, myself included. This town has many mysteries and legends surrounding it…"

"Uh huh." Gin quirked an eyebrow, her ire further raised. "There's no such thing as actual psychic power. Even with Psychic or Ghost Pokémon! Just because they use mental energy, that doesn't prove anything, you know."

Once again, the Gym Leader chuckled to himself, and Gin scowled again. What was so funny? This man was really getting on her nerves in the worst way…

"Dark Pokémon can sense things as well… Although not as strongly as Psychics… or even Ghosts. Just ask your Sneasel…"

Gin started, her hand brushing against Midnight's Pokéball. "As if! Even if you weren't lying, which you obviously are, there's no way Midnight's been trained to do anything like that." She then sneered. "Look, why don't you put this _power_ of yours to use and tell me how long it'll take me to get to the Pokémon Center or something."

"Hm? Oh, I'd say… about ten minutes. Considering it's down the street from here."

"Hack job! We'll see if you really are psychic or not when I challenge you later. Whatever."

With that, Gin turned on her heel and started storming down the dirt path. However, before she got very far, Morty called out one more time.

"And you won't have to worry… about holding back…"

"What?"

Gin froze without turning around. Morty continued speaking, obviously seeing her tense up slightly.

"On his account, that is… I sense… you've just lost… someone important to you. Have you ever felt the need to… slow down for him?"

"Nonsense! That _kid_ didn't affect my battling style in the least."

Picking up her pace, Gin nearly jogged away, resisting a rather strong urge to hurl more over her shoulder at Morty. However, he wasn't _nearly_ worth the trouble, and he was lying anyway.

However, as Misdreavus sighed, Morty simply smiled at it and shook his head.

"I was right… after all."

- - -

"Wha-? Now where do I go?"

Kin complained to himself as he took another turn, arriving at a dead-end with a few berry trees. Sighing, he turned back around. He'd been wandering around on Route 36 for a few hours in his attempt to reach Goldenrod, but had had no such luck in actually getting there.

Folding his hands behind his head, Kin sighed again and turned back around. However, as he took another step, he rammed his knee into something. Kin winced as he stepped back and looked down.

"A fence post? What?"

A short, wood-block fence ran along the distance of Route 36. Nearby, there was a small gatehouse, and Kin blinked as he read the sign.

"_Relaxation Square National Park_, huh… Hey, what's this? _Tri-Weekly Bug Catching Contest, held Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday afternoons—check inside for details_?"

Kin tapped his chin thoughtfully. A bug catching contest… Maybe there were rare Bug-Types? And if he remembered correctly, it _was_ Thursday. He could give it a shot…

"And if I catch something strong, I might even get to show up Gin!"

With that, Kin darted towards the gatehouse, a pre-victory smirk plastered on his face…


	22. Chapter Twenty One: Vs Pinsir!

_Author's Note_: Actually, this is the only chapter with just Kin. I mean, the guy needs a break sometimes… If this can even be considered a break, that is.

**Chapter Twenty One: Vs Pinsir!**

"Ah, good afternoon, sir! Are you here for the Bug-Catching Contest?"

"Of course!"

Kin grinned as he headed over to the contest registration counter, and the tired-looking attendant handed him an application. As Kin filled out the form, he paused.

"I can only enter with one of my Pokémon?"

"Well, yeah," the man yawned. "It'd be unfair if ya used more."

"…Oh."

Feeling a bit ridiculous, Kin quickly wrote down his new Mareep, Static, for his entrance Pokémon. He slid the application back across the counter, and the attendant nodded slowly as he took it.

"All right, then. It'll be staring here in a few minutes. Wait out there in the marked spot and we'll announce when to begin."

Kin nodded and ducked out the small door at the opposite end of the park entrance building. Several other trainers were already there, and a few of them had released their entry Pokémon already. There were several Bug-Types out, as well as an Elekid and a rather small Haunter. Grinning again, Kin released Static, and the Mareep cocked her head curiously.

"Okay, Static," Kin whispered. "Let's win ourselves this contest."

"Reep?" she bleated.

"All you've got is a Mareep?"

Kin whirled around to see a couple of short kids sniggering at him. Two of them had Butterfrees, while one had a Parasect and the other had the Haunter. Scowling, Kin put his hands on his hips.

"Static could beat you guys any day," he retorted.

"Oh, really, now?"

Before Kin could protest again, a voice screeched over the intercom.

"Attention, please! It is now time for the Bug-Catching Contest. Participants should already be in the park square. You have twenty minutes. Go!"

The PA system screeched off again, and the large group of participants instantly dispersed. However, the four kids smirked at Kin before breaking up, and the dark-haired boy scowled. He looked down at Static and crossed his arms.

"Let's go, Static!"

"Ma!"

Static slowly followed after Kin as he parted the waist-high grass of the park square. It shouldn't be too hard to find something good, after all… The only things that could actually _hide_ in the grass had to be the little Pokémon.

Moments later, Kin proved his own assumption when he almost stepped on a Weedle. Jerking straight up in surprise, the worm Pokémon glared at him. Kin gulped and almost ordered a Thundershock from Static, but the Weedle seemed to sigh as it turned away.

"Oh," Kin grumbled.

However, the grass rustled again, and Kin blinked. Suddenly, the tips of a pair of spiky white horns were visible a few feet away. Kin grinned suddenly—it had to be a Pinsir.

"Come on, Static," he whispered.

Kin slowly tiptoed after the Bug-Type, and Static followed after him. A few moments later, the Pinsir paused to take a breath as it pushed through the edge of the grass. Practically pouncing after it, Kin smirked.

"Thunder Wave!"

A small wave of electricity flowed from the bead on Static's tail and hit the surprised Pinsir. It tried to move, but the static was apparently numbing its limbs.

Quickly, Kin pulled a Pokéball out of his pocket and tossed it at Pinsir. The ball shook violently for a few seconds, and Kin crossed his fingers. Soon, though, it stopped moving and clicked shut.

"Yes!"

Kin cheered as he knelt down to pick up his Pokéball. Static smiled slightly as well, and Kin flashed her a thumbs-up.

"Now all we gotta do is wait for the time to run out…"

- - -

"Attention, contest participants! Your time limit is up. Please report to the east gate for judging."

Following the large crowd of entrants, Kin entered the small gatehouse. They released their catches one by one, and the gatekeeper looked at the Pokémon calmly.

"Right. First place goes to… Number 15's Butterfree."

Kin glared. The kid with the Haunter had caught a small Butterfree, but the impressive thing about the butterfly was the rare pink coloring of its wings. Sure, it was prettier than usual, but it had to be weaker than usual too…

"Let's see, who's in second… It'd have to be… Entrant 10's Pinsir!"

Kin blinked as he looked around. However, he grinned as he realized he'd been the only one to catch a Pinsir. He then sighed—first would have been better, but at least second was something…

"And third goes to… Three's Beedrill. Come on and claim your prizes."

Kin and the other two placers pushed their way up to the counter. The boy with the Butterfree took a Sun Stone, smiling proudly as he put it in his pocket, while the girl who'd caught Beedrill claimed an oddly-gold-colored berry. An angular, gray stone sat on the second-place card, and Kin frowned.

"Everstone," the attendant explained, yawning. "Prevents Evolution."

"Oh. Right," Kin mumbled, pocketing the stone. He then reached for Pinsir's Pokéball and recalled it, and handed the ball towards the man. "Hey, do you think you could re—"

"Release it?" The attendant blinked, seeming to be paying attention for once. "Why? Most people'd be overjoyed to get a Pinsir."

"Not one that loses to a Butterfree…"

Kin knew if Gin ever found out about his Pinsir losing to a _pink_ Butterfree of all things, he'd never hear the end of it. The gatekeeper sighed, but took the Pokéball nevertheless.

"If you say so, boy."

"Okay, thanks."

Kin turned to walk away, but swore he could still hear the man grumbling under his breath. As he opened the small door leading back to the park, he sighed.

"Maybe I'll just go through here to Goldenrod… I still might be able to get the badge…"

Kin picked up his pace, suddenly in a better mood at the prospect of challenging the gym.


	23. Chapter Twenty Two: Vs Lendary Trio!

_Author's Notes_: Okay, now that Kin's had his chapter, he'll be gone for a little while. We're back to Gin now, and we get Morty again. Oh, and we meet Eusine. Fudge.

**Chapter Twenty Two: Vs Legendary Trio!**

"Ugh. Why do I feel so…"

Gin groaned as she sat up. She'd stayed the night at Ecruteak's Pokémon Center, and she'd just woken up with a splitting headache. As she put her hand to her head, her eyes adjusted to the light—or rather, lack thereof.

The Pokémon Center's common room was still fairly dark, and the other trainers there were still fast asleep. Shaking her head, Gin started to look for her Pokégear to check her clock. Before she could, however, a rather suspicious puff of purple appeared in front of her. Very faintly, Gin could hear an extremely quiet hiss of, "Haun…ter…"

_A Haunter? Who… Ah, I think…_

Gin hastily climbed out of her sleeping bag, not bothering to roll it up or even straighten it out. She'd figured out the source of her headache by now—a Dream Eater attack, most likely. Now she just needed to figure out why…

A surprised gasp came from the direction of the mostly invisible Haunter, and then Gin saw an odd wave in the wall. It had to be the Haunter passing through. Fortunately, the wall it had passed through was near the door, and Gin had set up her sleeping bag near the front of the room.

Quickly opening the light door, Gin dashed down the hallway to the lobby. There was no one at the front desk—it was probably too early—so Gin grinned in relief as she picked up her pace. Slamming through the glass door, she panted to catch her breath.

She then saw another odd wave in the front wall of the Pokémon Center. Grinning, Gin slid open the glass door and squinted in the faint morning light. Just barely, she could make out the light outline of the Haunter floating along in front of her. Tiptoeing after it, she followed it around several turns in Ecruteak's dirt path.

Eventually, Gin managed to follow the Haunter to the burnt-out tower she'd seen the previous day. It slipped though the wall, and Gin sighed as she opened the weak wooden door.

As the door creaked open, Gin noticed two silhouettes in the middle of the room. The wall of the tower was charred, stray boards were poking up from the floor, and debris was scattered all over the place. As Gin rolled her eyes, she saw the Haunter float over to one of the silhouettes.

With a bit of straining her ears, Gin could hear the Haunter's trainer say, "Ah, Haunter. You were… gone for a while."

"Haunt!" it replied mischievously.

_Wait a second_, Gin frowned silently. _Haven't I heard that voice somewhere before?_

"Hey, Morty? It isn't just me seeing that figure over there, is it?"

Another man's voice echoed through the small room, and Gin's frown deepened into a scowl as the first man turned around. So she'd been right after all…

"Hm? Oh… Gin Shinu, wasn't it?" Morty's voice sounded vaguely bored.

"Cut that out, I never introduced myself," Gin snapped, taking a few steps closer to the two men.

"Morty, you know this wise guy?"

"We had a… fateful encounter yesterday, Eusine," Morty explained.

"There was nothing fateful about that, except for the completely fake psychic act you pulled. And hey, why would you be hanging out in a place like this?"

Eusine flipped his long brown bangs out of his face and put a glove-clad hand on his hip. Gin rolled her eyes as the brunette started speaking, wondering if she should take anything that a man in a purple cape was saying to be actual fact.

"We could ask the same of you. Anyway… You probably wouldn't know this, but Ecruteak's known as the city of _legends_. Lots of people come here trying to soak up the atmosphere and learn the stories… But there are three Pokémon that nobody's been able to find."

"Correct… Raikou, Entei, and Suicune."

"Legendary Pokémon?" Gin repeated, her interest admittedly rising. "And they're supposed to be around here somewhere?"

"Well, this is the best lead we have so far," Eusine grinned. "We've been inspecting this place up and down since about four this morning."

"Hm. I think I'll just do a bit of _inspecting_ myself then."

"Don't damage anything!"

"Whatever, cape man."

Gin took several large steps towards the middle of the room, and Morty and Eusine sighed audibly and apparently turned back to their work. Grinning, Gin broke into a light jog, and suddenly stepped onto an extra-weak part of the floor. Shouting in surprise as the floor fell through, she heard the two men gasp as she fell through.

After what felt like an eternity, Gin landed on her hands and knees onto a loosely-packed dirt floor. Glaring, she stood up and tried to dust the soil off of her blue uniform. Gin then shook her head and took a few steps around, realizing that at least nothing was broken… And while she was already down here, she might as well search for these Pokémon Morty had mentioned.

_Legendary Pokémon… They must be pretty strong…_

After a few more feet of wandering around, Gin noticed a small stone staircase leading up onto some kind of pedestal. Carefully, she walked up the stairs, and grinned when she arrived on the platform.

Three large figures were standing stone-still in a triangular formation. One looked vaguely like a saber-tooth tiger, with a pair of obligatory long teeth and a set of stripes on its yellow body. The second one had long fur and a red mane, with a yellow crown-like object on its head and black cuffs on its ankles. Finally, the third one was leaner than the other two, with a diamond-like growth on its forehead and a flowing mane.

"These must be…"

As Gin drew closer to the Pokémon, she reached out and touched the diamond crown of the third one. It didn't move at first, much to her surprise, and when Gin mover her hand down to its face, it felt oddly like stone.

_What a waste! Just statues…_ Gin scowled.

However, suddenly, Gin felt the Pokémon's skin warm up, and it yawned and stretched, causing her to draw her hand back it surprise. It then gave her a long stare, and turned away instantly. The Pokémon touch one side of its ribbon-like tail to its tiger-like companion, and the other side to the other one.

Gin watched in surprise as the other two Pokémon roared to life. Dozens of questions swam through her head, most prominently being how the Pokémon had turned to stone in the first place. However, she quickly snapped out of it and grabbed a Pokéball out of her pocket, tossing it at the tiger-like Pokémon.

With a cry of "Raikou!" it hit the Pokéball with its spiky tail. The ball hit the ground, and Raikou leapt over Gin's head, disappearing into the shadows. Glaring, Gin bent down to pick up the ball again.

She then tossed it towards the red, lion-like Pokémon, chewing the inside of her cheek. It roared "En… tei!" and merely shot an ember out of its mouth, melting the button on the Pokéball. Then, it too leapt over her head and vanished.

Gin swore under her breath, deciding to leave her melted Pokéball where it had landed. She then slowly looked up at the third Pokémon—it had to be Suicune, she deducted. It had been calmly watching her the whole time, and it was inspecting her curiously.

She took another few steps towards it, and Suicune allowed her to come surprisingly close to itself. The legendary Pokémon stared into Gin's eyes for a few seconds, and before Gin had time to reach for another Pokéball, it followed Raikou and Entei's examples. Jumping gracefully over Gin's head, it delicately dashed away into the shadows.

"Ugh! What the heck was up with that?"

Gin scowled as she turned around. Her fingers tightening angrily around the Pokéball she was holding, she stomped back off the small platform.

"What a waste! Am I _not worthy_ or something? And how am I supposed to get back up…"

As if on cue, a large rescue ladder was slowly lowered through the hole she'd fallen through. Blinking, she suddenly realized she couldn't have fallen more than one story, and quickly climbed back upstairs. When she got back to the ground level, Morty and Eusine still had twin looks of surprise on their faces.

"Gin! The legendary Pokémon just ran right by here!" Eusine babbled, his voice shining with excitement. "And you wouldn't believe—! Suicune paused on its way up here, and took a few steps towards me before bolting!"

"Yeah, well… I got to touch its face. Big deal, 'it-paused-and-looked' boy."

_He doesn't need to know it wasn't technically alive at the time, right?  
_

Eusine blinked, and his mouth dropped open. Suddenly, the man seemed to wilt, and even his cape drooped.

"Eusine is… quite a fan of Suicune in particular," Morty explained. "Although it is still a great honor… to even be able to see it."

"Aha! You're right!" Eusine snapped his fingers. "I'll chase Suicune to the ends of the earth if it means I get to see it again!"

"…You people are crazy. Look, you can fantasize over your legends or whatever for a little while, but I'm going to catch some food at the Pokémon Center. I'm starving over here."

As Gin took a few steps towards the Burnt Tower's rather pathetic door, she tossed a glance over her shoulder at Morty. The Gym Leader smiled calmly, as if expecting her next comment.

"I'll be at the gym later. Be ready," Gin announced.

With that, she opened the creaky door once again and left the tower.


	24. Chapter Twenty Three: Vs Gengar!

_Author's Notes_: Huzzah… This should be the last of Morty. We have to deal with Eusine again later though... Sorry if the battle seems a bit quick, but I remembered how much Morty bugged me, so… Yeah. Anyway, there's also a new Pokémon here, and if you haven't seen the Trainer Cards (or even if you have), you might start noticing a pattern in Gin's Pokémon.

**Chapter Twenty Three: Vs Gengar!**

"Man. I missed breakfast…"

Gin frowned to herself as she entered the Pokémon Center's Cafeteria. She'd just returned from the Burnt Tower, and had been hoping that she would've had time to catch the late serving of breakfast. However, apparently she'd gotten back just in time for an early lunch.

Sighing, Gin took a heated sandwich from the serving bar and headed over to one of the round tables. Kicking her feet up onto the chair next to her, the gray-haired girl slowly chewed on her food as she started to think. She was starting to focus on her gym battle with Morty, and after running into the man twice, was starting to get a good idea of what to expect. He was mysterious, but not much else, and she already knew two of his Pokémon—Misdreavus and Haunter.

She slowly stood up again, swallowing the last bite of her sandwich as she headed back towards the lobby. Grinning, Gin suddenly decided to go on and see if Morty had returned to the gym; thinking about the fight had geared her up. Gin opened the Center's sliding door, striding on her way out.

The one plus to Ecruteak being so small was that it was easy for Gin to find the gym again. Of course, its temple-like style made it stand out anyway, she thought as she arrived at the worn-looking wooden building. She resisted the urge to purposely ram into one of the semi-dilapidated pillars, rolling her eyes as she set her hand down on the doorknob.

Before Gin could open the door, though, it swung open on its own, the hinges creaking. Gin snorted as she entered, but blinked as she took a look around the room.

It looked even smaller from the inside than it had from the outside. Gin was standing on a wooden section of the floor, and the back of the room was wooden as well. Despite the heavy wood-theme of the building, the rectangular middle section looked like it made out of some kind of shiny black tiling.

Taking a few steps forward, Gin squinted at the floor. It glinted back at her, and suddenly, it looked smooth and watery. Cautiously, Gin put her foot down onto the floor, and it felt solid…

"Ah, are you confused by the floor…?"

Gin looked up as she heard Morty's voice, glaring as the blonde abruptly appeared in the back of the room. He smiled slowly at her as she retracted her foot.

"So, is there some trick to this, too?" she snorted.

"No… It's quite simple, really… Rely on your _senses_, and you'll have no trouble getting across…"

"And what happens if I don't get across? Those watery parts aren't similar to quicksand, are they?"

"I've… Never had to worry about that," Morty replied. "But of course… I would know what it does."

"Well, duh. But I'm not taking that risk. Midnight, come on out!"

Gin released the Sneasel, and she stretched as she grinned up at her trainer. The girl gestured to the floor in front of her and nodded.

"Use Blizzard, would you?"

"Snea!"

Midnight raised her claws and closed her eyes, and a chilling wind blew up. Ice shards started forming around Midnight, and she slashed them forward. Soon, a layer of ice covered the black flooring, and Gin smirked as she and Midnight safely walked straight across.

"See? No 'psychic power' needed. Care to get started?"

"Hm… Of course. I suppose you'll lead with Sneasel? Very well. I'll begin with Haunter."

Gin rolled her eyes as Morty released the purple Ghost-Type. Haunter cackled as it looked at Midnight, but the Sneasel looked mildly back at it. Sighing, Gin tried to form an idea in her head, and then grinned.

"Midnight, start with an Ice Beam."

"…Shadow Ball."

Midnight closed her eyes and started to form an Ice Beam in her mouth. However, Haunter quickly formed a large black shadow in between its hands. It then threw the attack at Midnight, and the Dark-Type was hit before she could launch her attack. She stumbled to the side and almost toppled over, but she managed to regain her footing.

Gin scowled. "Try a Blizzard this time."

Nodding, Midnight raised her arms into the air. A chilling breeze blew up, and ice shards formed around Midnight again. The Blizzard struck Haunter before it could launch another Shadow Ball, and the ice shards blew into its gaseous body. The wind swirled the Ghost-Type around, and the ice shards solidified it slightly.

"All right, now it oughtta be easy… to hit it with a Faint Attack!"

Midnight darted forward, quickly enough that it looked like she vanished. She then reappeared near Haunter, and the frozen ghost had no chance to dodge. After crashing into Haunter, Midnight flipped backwards, landing near Gin with a small smile.

Haunter fell to the ground, its numb form not moving. Morty sighed as he withdrew his Pokémon, and put two fingers to his forehead, closing his eyes. He then confidently pulled out a new Pokéball.

"I predict that Gengar will be a perfect match for you."

_Kuro has one of those, too,_ Gin frowned.

The larger ghost immediately materialized next to Morty. It chuckled to itself as it raised its arms into a fighting pose. Gin, however, rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. We'll just use Blizzard again."

"Gengar, please use Shadow Ball…"

Midnight started to form another Blizzard, but Gengar acted quicker. Its Shadow Ball struck through the ice attack, hurling into Midnight. She tumbled backwards as the attack struck, and panted as she landed on the floor.

"And now… Hypnosis."

A red glow emanated from Gengar's eyes. Odd light rays filtered through the air and lazily hit Midnight. The Sneasel struggled to keep her eyes open, but soon enough, she was out cold.

"That's cheap," Gin grumbled, recalling Midnight.

"As was your ice on the floor…"

"Hmph. You little… I'll go with Umbra."

Gin frowned as she released the Eevee. Umbra confidently stood in front of Gin, her tail wagging eagerly. Grinning just as eagerly, an idea quickly formed in Gin's head.

"Use a Shadow Ball yourself, Umbra!"

The shadowy disk formed from Umbra's mouth, and Umbra gave a light cry as she launched the attack at Gengar. Unfortunately for Gengar, it wasn't as quick that time, and the Shadow Ball scored a direct hit. It skidded backwards, narrowly missing Morty.

"All right, another Shadow Ball should do it."

"Us Psychic… Gengar…"

The two Pokémon almost simultaneously launched their attacks. Striking in midair, the attacks clashed and vaporized. Umbra and Gengar tried attacking again several times, but much to the same effect.

However, after a few more strikes, Umbra suddenly ducked as she launched another Shadow Ball. The attack lurked near the floor and caught Gengar off guard. Scoring another hit, Umbra's attack caused the larger Pokémon to skid backwards again. This time, Gengar tumbled over, fainting.

"At least… my prediction was accurate… Gengar took out Sneasel."

Gin snorted as Morty withdrew Haunter. Despite the fact that the Gym Leader was still keeping up his psychic act, she still didn't believe him.

"My final Pokémon… is Misdreavus."

The small ghost appeared near Morty, and Gin nearly laughed out loud. If Umbra could beat Gengar, then surely she could beat Misdreavus too…

"Thunderbolt, if you would, Misdreavus."

Sparks exploded around Misdreavus's body, quickly shooting over to Umbra. The surprised Normal-type didn't have time to duck, and she was hit directly. As the static passed over her, she crumpled to the ground.

"Or maybe not," Gin sighed, recalling Umbra. "Too bad… I'm down to my last Pokémon too."

Gin released Theriolt, wondering how much damage the Scyther could do to Misdreavus. His main means of attack were his blades, after all. Then, she remembered a different attack that Theriolt could use as Morty called out his attack.

"Shadow Ball, Misdreavus."

"Heh. Use Silver Wind!"

Misdreavus quickly formed and launched a Shadow Ball attack. However, Theriolt responded by flapping his thin wings rapidly, and a silvery, powdery wind formed around him. Theriolt's Silver Wind easily blew through the Shadow Ball, but that left little of the attack to hit Misdreavus. It successfully swirled up the Ghost-Type, but just a little.

"Okay, let's try that with full force this time!"

Theriolt launched another Silver Wind before Misdreavus had a chance to recover. The wind easily struck down the ghost, and it fell to the floor weakly. Gin smirked as Misdreavus didn't get up.

"So much for your 'psychic power' helping you, eh?"

She withdrew Theriolt as Morty resignedly recalled Misdreavus. The blonde Gym Leader closed his eyes, and a small badge suddenly floated out of his pocket. Handing it to Gin, he smiled reluctantly.

"I'm surprised… at how quick you were," he commented.

"Heh." Gin clipped the badge to the inside of her jacket. "It's no big. I thought for a minute that Gengar would actually be good for something."

"Ah… I see," Morty replied, looking slightly taken aback. "That means…?"

"Oh, nothing. See ya later, psychic boy."

"Hm. Good-bye, Gin."

Waving over her shoulder, Gin quickly crossed the still-frozen black area of the floor. Relieved, she twisted the door knob, and leaned against the door as she then closed it.

Gin then grinned and pulled her Pokégear out of her pocket, trying to decide where to head next. Selecting the map function, she remembered that from Ecruteak, Johto practically split off in two different directions. She could either head east to Mahogany Town, or west to Olivine City. Of course, going west might be more convenient, she realized—if she went on to Mahogany, it would be going out of her way to come back for Olivine, and Cianwood beyond that.

Suddenly, though, the screen of her Pokégear burst into static. Scowling, Gin looked up to see a flash of gray. Hurrying after it, she grumbled when she noticed she was chasing a Magnemite. The magnet Pokémon was absentmindedly buzzing and releasing a bit of electricity from its screws, causing heavier static to Gin's Pokégear the closer she got to it.

"Hm… I bet if it's discharging like that, it might be tired. Electric-Types do that…" Gin frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe it would be easy to catch. I really could use a new Pokémon."

Quietly, Gin pulled a Pokéball off of her belt and instantly threw it at Magnemite. It looked surprised as it was pulled into the Pokéball, and the device barely twitched before it locked shut.

"I was right. Meh, maybe I should apologize to the little sucker later…"

Shrugging, Gin clipped her new Magnemite's Pokéball onto her belt. She started to whistle as she took a turn on the dirt path, wandering towards the small town's western edge. The path soon merged into cobblestone, and Gin realized exactly how tiny Ecruteak was—according to another check of her Pokégear's map, she'd just turned onto Route 38.

Gin grinned again as she picked up her pace. The quicker she got to Olivine, the better, after all…


	25. Chapter Twenty Four: Vs Shellder!

_Author's Notes_: Yay, Olivine, and I get to introduce Jasmine, one of my favorite Gym Leaders. But I'm not putting in the Miltank Farm because it seemed kinda pointless. And as to why Silver's here, well… There's a reason. Multiple reasons, actually, but they're kinda weak…

And wait, another new Pokémon? Two captures in a row? Yeah, yeah, I thought about moving it… But then I realized that now would really be the best time for Shellder. (Parrot-san made quite a clever observation, by the way. I didn't notice that Gin and Silver both had Sneasel and Magneton until she pointed it out.)

**Chapter Twenty Four: Vs Shellder!**

"…What the heck?"

Gin rested her forehead in her palm, grumbling under her breath. She'd taken the west exit out of Ecruteak City, and had since been wandering around on Route 39. Normally, Gin had a pretty decent sense of direction—but like Ecruteak, the route had narrow, winding dirt paths and scattered trees. The whole place was starting to look rather circular.

Deciding to double-check her Pokégear one last time, Gin reached into her pocket for the device. She sighed as she selected the map feature, but then blinked. Apparently, she was much closer to Olivine than she'd thought; the town's marking blinked up at her from just below her own estimated location indicator.

"That's better," Gin grinned, sliding the Pokégear back into her pocket.

As Gin took several steps forward, a small, fence-lined, paved pathway merged from the dirt road she'd been on. The sidewalk then turned, and Gin blinked as she entered what had to be Olivine City.

Like the path she'd just entered, Olivine City seemed to be lined by a short, white-washed fence. It couldn't be that much bigger than New Bark Town, but there was a gym near the town's entrance and a large lighthouse in the distance. Several apartments also decorated the city's skyline, and when Gin squinted, she could also see a bit of the ocean in the distance.

"Might as well start with the gym," Gin sighed.

The gym was a small, square, stone building with a flat roof and high windows. Snorting, Gin thought the gym looked a bit like a prison cell of some sort as she rested her hand on the doorknob. Before she could open the door, however, it flew open for her.

_I just had a spacey Gym Leader, and now—what?_

Gin blinked as a wave of red hair darted out from the building. As the door slammed shut, Gin frowned and rather unceremoniously grabbed the boy by the wrist.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing here?" she frowned.

"L-Let me go, jerk!"

The redhead struggled out of Gin's grip and turned around, glaring at her with slanted silver eyes. Gin glared back as she got a better look at him. His hair definitely lacked Suishou's highlights, and it fell all the way past his waist. Furthermore, he was far too lanky—he was almost as tall as Gin—and his black jacket contrasted too sharply with Suishou's normal bright sweater. Despite his more angular features, Gin got the impression that he was a year or two younger than Suishou as well…

"Oh. Random punk. Sorry about that."

Gin apologized rather sarcastically as she turned away. However, the redhead grabbed her shoulder, scowling.

"Who's the punk here?"

"You, punk. Now, I assume that as you just left the gym, you'd know if the Leader's in, yes?"

"Stop calling me punk! My name is Silver! And the little girl's out."

Gin blinked. "Okay… And by _little girl_ I assume you mean the Leader."

"_Duh_. Heard she's playing nurse at the Lighthouse. I ain't wastin' my time going out there, though. Better things to do."

Silver then pushed past Gin, straightening the collar of his jacket. Gin growled slightly as she watched him leave, and then placed her hand on her hip and sighed. Cracking the door and peering into the gym, she saw the kid was right—all she could see was a darkened room.

"Guess I can't start at the gym after all. Might as well try the Lighthouse…"

Gin started striding away from the gym, but froze after a few steps. A thought had suddenly occurred to her, and she shook her head.

"I… I don't sound like that, do I?"

Shaking her head in consolation, Gin took a turn to the right when the sidewalk forked. She till scowled slightly as she crossed her arms over her chest, trying to cast Silver out of her mind. Really, she thought, she _had_ to be going crazy if she mistook someone like that for Suishou…

Fortunately, Olivine was small enough that although the sidewalk was winding, Gin still arrived at the lighthouse in just a few minutes. The pathway sloped upwards as she walked towards it, and the building overlooked a shallow gulf that lead out to the ocean. From there, the rest of Olivine's eastern and southern edges were bordered by the ocean.

Turning the small doorknob, Gin easily opened the lighthouse's loose wooden door and ducked through the doorframe to get inside. A large, spiraling staircase lay in front of her, and small torches were set up in intervals around the stone wall.

Sighing, Gin tried to avoid touching the musty-looking banister as she started walking up the stairs. Perhaps it was due to their spiral pattern, but Gin felt like she was going a short distance in a long time. She impatiently started walking a bit faster, not bothering to stop and catch her breath.

Gin sighed in relief as she reached the end of the staircase. She arrived in a small, circular room with slits cut through the sides of the walls, and a conical roof rose over her head. In the middle of the room, a large Ampharos was curled up under a blanket, and a short girl with long brown hair was anxiously kneeling next to it.

"Amphy? C-Can you hear me?"

"Pha…" Amphy groaned.

"Hey there."

Gin folded her hands behind her head as the Ampharos and the girl looked over at her in surprised. Amphy weakly laid its head back down, but the other girl blinked in surprise.

"Um… hello?" she said nervously. "Who are you?"

"The name's Gin Shinu. I heard the Gym Leader was up here, but I guess I'll just be on my way again—"

"Wait! I'm the Gym Leader," the brunette called as Gin started to turn away. "M-My name is Jasmine… I also look after the lighthouse… But Amphy is very sick."

"Huh. So… What exactly does that mean?" Gin quirked an eyebrow.

"Well… I know of a place to get a special kind of medicine… But I can't just leave Amphy here either. Could you maybe go?"

"Depends. Where is this place?"

"Um, it's in Cianwood…"

"That's across the ocean," Gin frowned. "You sure about this?"

"Yes, I've heard about a special pharmacy there. I think maybe you might be able to catch a boat, but only a small one… None of the big boats want to sail when Amphy is sick… Amphy is the reason why the lighthouse stays lit. But just to be safe… You should have a Water-Type."

…_What? When was it decided that I'm going?_ Gin mentally growled.

"All right," Gin sighed. "I suppose it'd be easy to catch a Water Pokémon around here… And I would like to be able to challenge you as soon as possible anyway. I'll go."

Gin waved over her shoulder as Jasmine cheered. The Gym Leader hugged Amphy around the neck, and Gin rolled her eyes as she started walking back down the stairs. Once again, she tried to avoid holding onto the banister, and fortunately, going down seemed to take quicker than going up.

Soon, Gin was leaning against the small wooden door again as she closed it. She frowned as she looked out at the small nearby gulf. How was she supposed to catch anything in such shallow water? Besides, she didn't even have a fishing rod…

"Shell!"

A high-pitched cry suddenly rang out as a small wave ran into the shore. As the wave pulled back, a small purple bivalve shell rolled a few times on the sand, and stopped a few feet from Gin. The two edges of the shell slowly opened, revealing a large tongue and a pair of round eyes. Gin blinked at the thing for a few seconds, and its eyes narrowed mischievously.

"Shell… der!"

The Shellder suddenly lashed out with its tongue, licking Gin's shoe. Crying out in disgust, Gin quickly reached for Magnesia's Pokéball.

"Magnesia, come on!"

Magnesia materialized next to Gin, buzzing curiously for a few seconds as it looked around. Then, however, it noticed the giggling Shellder a few feet away.

"Use… Thunderbolt, or something," Gin grumbled.

"Mag… ne… mite…"

Beeping slightly, sparks discharged from Magnesia's screws, and the magnet Pokémon launched a Thunderbolt at the Shellder. Literally and figuratively shocked, Shellder was thrown into the air as the attack hit. It crashed back down to the beach, tongue lolling out weakly.

"Hah! Take that!"

On impulse, Gin grabbed a Pokéball off of her belt and threw it at the Water-Type. The ball barely twitched before locking shut, and Gin abruptly blinked. Then, she realized that she had indeed caught the Pokémon, and screamed in frustration as she put her head in her hands.

"No! I didn't really want it…!"

"Mag?"

Magnesia blinked as it watched Gin kick up a stream of sand and pick up the Pokéball…


	26. Chapter Twenty Five: Vs Electrode!

_Author's Notes_: Ack, it's Eusine! Huh. I'm not entirely sure what to do with Suicune and company now, but hey. Maybe Cape Man will get lucky or something later. (And Gemma, like Gin, is pronounced with a "hard g," just so you know.) And yes, I am leaving out Eusine's Haunter on purpose. He still has it, he's just not using it—you'll see why.

**Chapter Twenty Five: Vs Electrode!**

"I can't even surf on this thing."

Gin grumbled to herself as she got her Pokémon back from the nurse. She'd quickly stopped by Olivine's Pokémon Center after catching her Shellder, and was a bit less-than-enthusiastic as she remembered how small the thing was. Perhaps her lack of excitement over the Water-Type had been what had caused her to settle for a somewhat lackluster nickname—Gemma.

As Gin left the building, she sighed, hoping she'd be able to find a ship. Pulling her Pokégear out of her pocket, she selected the map feature and zoomed in on Olivine City. Fortunately, it looked like there was a dock fairly close to the south of the Pokémon Center.

Mood brightened slightly, Gin took followed the sidewalk to the south as she pocketed her Pokégear again. The path led to a small, rickety wooden bridge after a few minutes, and Gin's frown returned. That couldn't bode well for the actual dock…

Carefully, Gin put a foot on the bridge, and when it didn't wobble—miraculously, she thought—she started to stride across it. A few steps later, the bridge started to widen, and a wooden dock spread out horizontally in front of her. Several small ships were lined across the dock, but there were small enough to be personal boats; most of them looked like they could carry about ten people max. A couple other trainers had flocked around one of the boats on the right side of the dock, and Gin looked over at the boat herself curiously.

"This one's going to Cianwood," a black-haired girl explained. "I think we're leaving soon if you want to get on."

"All right," Gin nodded.

She quickly stood with the group, and a few moments later the captain of the tiny boat appeared near the railing. He slowly lowered a ladder, and the group started to climb on. Gin was the last of the trainers to board, and the balding man turned to the group with a weary look on his face.

"Okay, so the trip to Cianwood only takes a couple of hours. There are some cabins down below if you wanna rest up on the way there. I'll come and get ya when we get there, all right?"

"Yes, sir," the group chorused.

Turning towards a small trap door, one of the boys in the group yanked it upwards, and the trainers started filing downstairs. Gin rolled her eyes slightly as she went down; the old man's behavior seemed more than a bit odd, but when you had to ferry people in lack of a bigger ship, it had to make you irritable, after all…

When they arrived downstairs, they were in a narrow wooden hallway with five loose-looking doors. Gin groaned inwardly; that probably meant two beds per room. Counting the number of others, she realized she'd definitely have to share—there were _exactly_ ten people, counting her.

Sighing, Gin quickly opened the nearest door as the other trainers scattered. Several of them appeared to be friends, and went off into rooms together. As Gin opened her cabin door, she blinked. The room was just big enough for the two double beds, a small end table, and a lamp. Sitting unceremoniously on one of the white-sheeted beds, Gin winced as it creaked slightly.

"Hey. D'you mind if I stay in here?"

A tall, pale boy with freckles and shoulder-length brown hair grinned as he entered the room. Gin nodded absently, figuring it didn't really matter if she agreed or not. The boy was already in the room after all and probably wouldn't leave either way.

"Name's Reyson Honda, by the way. You?"

"Gin Shinu," she said, bored as she shook his hand.

"Huh…" Reyson frowned curiously at her hand for a moment before letting go. "You… have really small hands, y'know?"

Gin shrugged. "I know."

Reyson slowly sat down on the opposite bed, still frowning as he inspected Gin. The gray-haired girl scowled back, twisting her tie around her finger.

"That's… kind of rude of you," she commented bluntly.

Shaking his head, Reyson blinked. "Oh. Sorry. No offense meant, but you look kinda like a girl is all."

Gin's scowl deepened. She could pretend to be offended here—the whole point of taking Kuro's uniform had been to look like a guy in the first place—or she could shrug it off… But pretending to be offended sounded more fun.

She pulled an empty Pokéball out of her pocket and tossed it rather haphazardly at Reyson as she turned to the side. "…I get that a lot. Stow it."

"Ow! Sorry!"

The brunette winced as the projectile hit his shoulder and bounced to the floor. Secretly grinning to herself, Gin flopped onto the bed and rolled over so that she was facing the wall instead of the boy.

"Hmph. Good night, Harrison."

"It's Reyson! And it's still afternoon!"

Gin slowed her breathing purposefully, and Reyson sighed a few seconds later. He probably figured Gin was asleep, as she heard him fall back onto his bed as well. Chuckling, Gin mentally patted herself on the back as she stared at the oddly-shaped cracks in the wall…

* * *

A shrill whistle suddenly rang through the air, and Gin jolted. She'd apparently fallen asleep, as had Reyson, as they both scrambled off of the beds. They quickly opened the small door and jogged up the stairs as the other trainers sleepily followed.

"Okay, everyone here?"

The ship's captain frowned as he counted the trainers coming onto the deck. Once all ten of them arrived, he pulled his rope ladder out from the large toolbox near the steering wheel. Draping it over the side of the boat, he looked back at the trainers.

"So if there're any of y'all not staying very long, ships come back about once a day. Don't miss 'um, y'hear?"

There were nods and choruses of "Yeah, uh huh," as the group members started climbing down the ladder. Gin somehow managed getting to be last again, and grinned as her shoes hit the small wooden docking platform. As she looked up, the captain was already steering away.

"Odd bird, that guy," a blonde boy frowned.

With varying degrees of consent, the group members slowly scattered off of the dock. They'd been dropped off near the sandy coastline of Cianwood, and after a few feet, the sand merged into rocky soil. The town was small and mountainous, and the buildings were tiny—even the Pokémon Center, Gin observed; it was right near the coast, and she could spot it easily.

Yawning, Gin decided to stretch a bit before looking for the pharmacy or gym. There were no real pathways around the island, so she tried to keep track of what turns she took and what buildings she passed as she walked.

Soon, Gin arrived near a small, rocky alcove that overlooked the beach. She paused for a moment, letting the wind blow through her hair, and grinned. However, the breeze then picked up quickly, and a blue-and-purple blur passed by her. Stumbling slightly, Gin squinted as the blur paused.

She quickly recognized the creature as one of the Pokémon she'd seen in Ecruteak—it was Suicune. The Water-Type gave her a brief look, and then turned towards the ocean. With a single leap, Suicune landed on the shore below and started dashing towards the ocean without pausing for breath. Gin blinked as she realized it was darting right over the ocean's waves, leaving small waves of its own in its wake.

"Hey! You! Did you see? Did you?"

A slightly familiar voice rang out from behind Gin, and she groaned as she spotted a brunette man in a purple cape. Eusine panted as he caught up to Gin, and looked out at the ocean, his eyes practically glowing.

"I thought Suicune might come to a place like this, with an ocean as amazing as that," Eusine breathed, mostly to himself. "That's why I tried to track it here…" He suddenly snapped, however, as he looked back at Gin. "And you! You're here. What makes you think Suicune wants you?"

"Hey!" Gin glared. "I just came here now! And besides, what makes you think Suicune wants _you_, Cape Man?"

"I… I…" Eusine actually looked speechless for a second. "That's it! You're on!"

As he reached for a Pokéball, Gin slapped a palm to her forehead. The man actually looked serious—it was almost comical.

"What does a battle have to do with any of this…?"

Eusine either didn't hear or didn't care. He grinned as he released a Pokémon, crying, "Go, Drowzee!"

"Whatever. Might as well test run Gemma."

Gin reluctantly released the Shellder. The Water-Type gave a screeching chuckle as his tongue lolled out, causing Eusine and Drowzee to wince. Annoying, sure, but maybe that could serve a purpose, Gin realized.

"All right, go on and get Drowzee with Water Gun."

Gemma shot a small stream of water out of the front of his bivalve while Drowzee was still covering its short ears. The surprised Psychic-Type stumbled backwards, falling into a sitting position near Eusine.

"Ah! Use Thunder Punch—"

"Ice Beam."

Giggling slightly, Gemma launched an Ice Beam as Drowzee tried to stand up. The ice quickly coated the wet Pokémon, and Drowzee was coated with ice from the neck down. It gave an indignant look as Eusine blinked, recalling it.

"You… Argh!" Eusine scowled, but then a slow smirk formed on his face. "I know. I'll let you use all of you Pokémon for my next one."

_Why would he let me do a four-on-one… Unless… No, he can't have a decent plan…_

"You must really want me to beat you. All right then. Come on out, Midnight, Theriolt, Umbra, and Magnesia!"

The Sneasel, Scyther, Eevee, and Magnemite all materialized next to Gemma. Gin grinned as Eusine blinked, trying to decide on a good combined attack to use on the new Pokémon. Although, the brief nervous look on Eusine's face vanished as he released his Pokémon.

"Come on, Electrode! Let's go with Explosion!"

Gin glared as the red-and-white Pokémon appeared near Eusine and started to glow with energy. She quickly opened her mouth, trying to force out an attack from any one of her Pokémon, but the energy around Electrode quickly exploded outwards, striking all five Pokémon at once. Gin looked in disbelief at the six total fainted Pokémon as she recalled her own.

"Why… That was crazy!" she shouted.

"Oh, no, it wasn't at all. I still have a Haunter left, you see, and I just knocked out all five of yours. Looks like I win," Eusine winked. "If you can't even handle me, you certainly won't be able to handle Suicune. Au revoir!"

Eusine tossed his cape and bounded away. Gin gaped after him, still not believing what had just happened.

"First Whitney… Now him?"

Gin yelled in frustration as she tried to remember how to get back to the Pokémon Center.


	27. Chapter Twenty Six: Vs Poliwrath!

_Author's Notes_: Eh. I don't really like Chuck either, but at least I like him more than the previous two Gym Leaders. And here's the pharmacy, too…

Also I am aware that calling Reyson "Harrison Ford" is quite a terrible pun on my part. But this should be the last time he shows up anyway, so… yeah. And that was part of the reason I picked out his name anyway.

**Chapter Twenty Six: Vs Poliwrath!**

"This is stupid. I can't believe I just walked into that…"

Gin grumbled under her breath as she handed her Pokémon to Cianwood's Pokémon Center's nurse. She was still complaining to herself about her battle with Eusine, and she wouldn't be getting any less sore anytime soon. Crossing her arms, Gin sat down on one of the couches in the lobby, realizing she should have known something was up when Eusine let her use all of her Pokémon for one of his…

"Hey! Did you just hand over all of your Pokémon?"

Gin scowled as she looked up, recognizing the boy from the boat ride over. He'd just handed the nurse one of his four Pokéballs, and was looking at her curiously.

"Huh. You're Harrison Ford, right?"

"It's Reyson Honda!" he glared. "Seriously though, man, you look kinda singed."

"I am not singed."

"Yes you are."

Frowning, Gin looked down at her fingers—they were a bit burnt at the tips, and so were the edges of her hair. She sighed and rolled her eyes at the ceiling.

"I walked into an explosion."

"Wh-what?" Reyson blinked. "Wouldn't you be kinda… dead if you did that?"

"Then please inform me as to why Electrode explosions are legal if they could kill you."

"…Oh. But still, I didn't know Electrodes could even knock out two Pokémon with an explosion, let alone five."

"That's really none of your business, is it?" Gin frowned, slowly standing up and walking past Reyson.

"Hey, wait, I'm sorry! Come back!"

Gin rolled her eyes again as she kept walking, heading for the cafeteria…

* * *

"Now, where's this pharmacy…?"

As Gin took her Pokémon back from the nurse, she turned and headed for the Pokémon Center's door. Cianwood definitely wasn't very big, but all of the buildings looked nearly identical… Hopefully the pharmacy wouldn't take too long to find.

Quickly closing the glass door behind her, Gin took a few steps away from the building. She pulled her Pokégear out of her pocket, frowning as she turned on the map function. Fortunately, the pharmacy didn't look too far from the Pokémon Center, and Gin sighed and put the device away again.

She followed a few turns in the dirt path, folding her hands behind her head and looking around disinterestedly. After passing a few small apartments, she came to a square one-story building with a flat tin roof. A small wooden sign near the front door read "Cianwood Pharmacy," and Gin snorted as she reached for the doorknob.

"This place is… _impressive_," she groaned sarcastically.

When she entered, she saw several shelves lining the walls that were filled with an assortment of medicine bottles. An older, white-haired man was sitting behind a small counter in the back, while a younger brunette man was double-checking a few of the bottles. The younger man looked up and smiled as he heard the door close.

"Hello!" he greeted cheerfully. "What kind of medicine do you need?"

Gin shrugged. "Well, it's for a Pokémon."

"What's wrong with it?" the man frowned.

"Heck if I know. It kinda looked like it had trouble breathing, though, and like it had a fever…"

"Ah… That sounds like a severe cold or maybe pneumonia…" The assistant hurriedly brushed through several containers on the shelf in front of him. "Somewhere around here I think… Aha! This should do the trick."

He pulled out a bottle containing a pink, syrupy liquid and handed it to Gin. The gray-haired girl frowned as she looked at the label, reading _Secret Potion_. She frowned and looked up at the man, raising an eyebrow.

"So what exactly is in this stuff, anyway?"

"I know it has a couple different berries in it, and maybe an herb or two… Oh, right now, we have that at a bit of a discount, so it's only 300 Poké."

Gin reached into her pocket again to dig around for a few bills. She paused and looked over her shoulder at the shop owner, who appeared to be asleep, and then quirked an eyebrow as she looked back at the younger man.

"Can I just pay you?"

"Um, sure, I guess!"

Scowling slightly, Gin handed the money to the assistant. He waved somewhat awkwardly as she turned to leave, and Gin raised a hand in acknowledgement as she opened the door. Fortunately, the bottle was small enough to fit in her pocket, and she slipped it in as she left the building.

"Well, now I've got this. So now I have to find the gym…"

Gin stretched as she followed the winding path for a few more minutes. After passing several rather worn-out houses, she frowned when she saw the trail fork. Fortunately, though, the right fork turned to a short dead-end, so it was obvious which way to go.

The left fork led to a large, dojo-style wooden building. It had a flat roof and high windows, and the door was slightly open. A cracked, barely-legible plate over the door read "Cianwood Gym," and Gin folded her arms before going in.

"This is really looking a bit underwhelming for a gym."

However, she proceeded to push the door the rest of the way open, frowning as she looked inside. Several large mats were spread across the floor, and a few punching bags hung around the one-room building. A rack in the back of the room held a few nun chucks, fighting gloves, and other sparring equipment. In the back of the room, a large man with a rather thick beard was holding a fighting stance in front of a Poliwrath.

"That was weak, boy! Show me a real Dynamic Punch this time!"

"Poli… wrath!"

Poliwrath leapt forward, a ball of energy glowing around its fist. The man dodged to the side easily, and Poliwrath merely grazed his bare arm. Frowning, he touched his fingers to the light bruise.

"Hmph. At least you did something that time. You still could've actually hit me, you know."

"…Hey. If that thing can't even hit _you_ properly, I bet it'd be easy to beat in a battle."

Gin brushed her bangs out of her face as the man and the Poliwrath looked over at her. Suddenly, the trainer burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.

"Ha! I like your style, pretty boy. What's your name?"

"Gin Shinu," she droned. "And I'm guessing you're the Gym Leader."

"You guessed right," he replied proudly. "Name's Chuck. You're wanting a battle, son?"

…_As long as you don't call me "son" again_, Gin frowned. Aloud, she said, "Of course I do."

"Great." Chuck cracked his knuckles. "This oughtta be fun. All right, let's go, Poliwrath!"

Poliwrath swaggered over in front of Chuck, and Gin rolled her eyes. The thing still had energy, at least, but it did look a bit tired; was Chuck even sure what he was doing? Gin quickly reached for Magnesia's Pokéball, deciding to risk the Fighting weakness in order to use the Water advantage.

"Come on, Magnesia."

The Magnemite buzzed as it appeared in front of Gin. Poliwrath put its hands confidently on its hips, and Chuck struck a similar pose as he started laughing.

"That little thing? Okay, this'll be easy. Poliwrath, use Dynamic Punch!"

"Thunder Wave, Magnesia."

Poliwrath jumped at Magnesia, its fist glowing with energy again. However, before it could reach Magnesia, a bit of electricity crackled out of the Electric-Type's screws. The small electric waves hit Poliwrath's fist and spread up its arm, numbing it. As Poliwrath stumbled back in surprise, Gin smirked.

"Good. Now, if you really want to use an inaccurate move like Dynamic Punch… You should do something like this. Magnesia, show them a Lock On and Zap Cannon combo."

Magnesia buzzed again, pale rays shooting out of its eye to form a cross-hair on Poliwrath's chest. Then, a circular blast of electricity blasted out of its top screw, following along the cross-hair. Poliwrath tried to stumble backwards, but the Zap Canon blasted it before it had a chance to dodge. The attack hit dead-on, causing Poliwrath to collapse, slightly singed.

"Why didn't I see that comin'?" Chuck grunted as he withdrew Poliwrath. "Shouldn't've challenged you so quickly either. Oh well... Primeape will give you a run for your money."

Chuck released a large, white-and-brown monkey-like Pokémon that hopped from foot to foot as it glared at Gin and Magnesia. Gin sighed; she knew she had a major disadvantage here, but maybe she could still use Magnesia for a bit.

"Try Thunder Wave again."

"Heh. Use Cross Chop!"

A few sparks started discharging from Magnesia's screws again. Before it could launch the attack though, Primeape dashed forward with its fists crossed in front of it. The Fighting-Type then raised one fist and struck Magnesia from above, and then struck it from the side with the other. Magnesia tumbled to the ground, buzzing weakly. It tried to get back up, but sank to the floor again.

Gin sighed, withdrawing the Magnemite. "Eh… I'll try Theriolt."

The Scyther materialized near Gin, and he smirked as he raised his blades. Primeape still didn't look daunted, but Theriolt leered at it.

"Cross Chop again, Primeape!"

"Hm. Agility and Slash."

Primeape crossed its fists again as it charged towards Theriolt. The Bug-Type dodged at the last second by dashing out of the way, and grinned as he appeared behind Primeape. He then slashed forward slowly with one of its blades, barely cutting Primeape but still causing it to wince and bleed slightly. He then quickly slashed down with the other blade before Primeape had time to react, causing it to stumble forward.

The monkey Pokémon panted as it turned around, slowly raising its fists in front of it. Obviously, it was too stubborn to give up, but was also just about to faint. Gin grinned as she settled on a new attack.

"Okay, Theriolt, put it down with a Wing Attack."

Theriolt languidly stepped towards Primeape, his thin wings starting to vibrate. Primeape weakly tried to make another Cross Chop at the taller Pokémon but couldn't swing hard enough. Taking advantage of the brief pause, Theriolt spun around and struck Primeape with its wings. The fighting type finally collapsed as the attack hit, and Chuck groaned.

"Hey, boy, you're better than you look," he frowned as he withdrew Primeape. "That's my last one."

"Really now. I thought you'd have more," Gin frowned back, recalling her own Pokémon."

"Ha! Well, I don't. You deserve this Storm Badge, y'know."

Chuck pulled a fist-shaped badge out of a pocket in his ripped pants. He tossed it over-handed to Gin, and she caught it easily. Clipping it to her jacket, Gin smirked as she looked up.

"It was fun."

"'Course it was!" Chuck grinned. "Now run along and get some real training in."

Gin whistled as she turned to leave. Getting the badge—and the potion—had significantly improved her mood, and now all she had to do was find a ride back to Olivine.

Another badge awaited, after all.


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven: Vs Cloyster!

_Author's Notes_: Yay, Olivine again… And I know this is kinda early to be getting a Water Stone, but there's really not any other good times I can think of. Plus Jasmine collecting rocks and stuff makes sense if you think about it.

**Chapter Twenty Seven: Vs Cloyster!**

Gin sighed as she wandered out of the Pokémon Center's cafeteria. After her battle with Chuck, she'd left her Pokémon with the nurse just for good measure, and had then gone to get herself dinner. She knew she was too late to get a boat back to Olivine—on the way to Cianwood, the boat had left earlier in the afternoon, after all—but at least she'd be able to get better sleep in the common room anyway.

Walking back into the lobby, Gin folded her arms and sank into one of the couches. Her Pokémon couldn't be that much longer, after all… Fortunately, she was right, as s few seconds later, the nurse approached the counter with a few sets of Pokéballs.

"Gin Shinu, Holly Day, Karl Gold… Your Pokémon are finished healing!"

Grinning, Gin stood back up and walked over to the counter with a couple other trainers. The pink-haired nurse smiled as she handed the trainers their Pokémon and then nodded, hurrying back through the small door behind the counter to the nursing room. Gin clipped her Pokéballs back onto her belt and started on towards the common room.

Fortunately, the room wasn't very crowded, but then again it wasn't very big either. Gin disinterestedly took a sleeping bag from the provided box, and rolled it out in the corner of the room. For a few minutes, she merely sat on top of it, frowning as she looked up at the ceiling. It barely after dinnertime, and she definitely wasn't tired yet.

However, Gin eventually sighed, deciding she might as well get to sleep early. Unzipping the sleeping bag a bit, she climbed in and rolled over so that she was facing the wall. Trying to force herself to feel tired, Gin closed her eyes and started breathing slowly…

* * *

The next morning, Gin clenched her eyes closed as she rolled over. Sitting up slowly, she frowned as she realized it was much later than she'd thought; faint sunlight was coming through the Pokémon Center's windows. Pulling her Pokégear out of her pocket, Gin felt her frown deepen. It was already almost noon, and she never slept that late.

Sighing, Gin climbed out of her sleeping bag and carefully rolled it up. Dropping it in the return box on her way out of the room, Gin felt her stomach growl, and reluctantly headed to the cafeteria. She still probably had enough time to sit down and eat before trying to catch a boat, as opposed to just eating on her way out.

Gin languidly walked into the short line behind the serving bar. Lunch was already being served, and several wrapped sandwiches and salads were lined up on the bar. Grabbing a sandwich, Gin headed over to a table and propped her feet up on the chair next to her. She peeled away the plastic wrapper and slowly took a few bites of her sandwich—cheese and turkey, which wasn't exactly her favorite, but at least it was something.

Eating quickly, Gin stood up a few minutes later to throw the wrapper away. She tossed it into the trash can on her way back to the lobby, and was honestly more than a bit eager to leave. As she opened the building's glass door, the frowned as she thought about how small Cianwood was.

That, and there was the incident with Eusine and Suicune the other day.

Trying to push the memory to the back of her head, Gin took the path away from the Center, trying to remember where the rickety old dock had been. It was only a few turns away, and several other trainers were there already. Folding her hands behind her head, Gin strode onto the dock as well, wincing as the wood creaked.

"Oh, hi," a girl grinned, looking up as she heard the noise. "The ship usually gets here around now. You're right on time."

"Good," Gin yawned.

Sure enough, after a few more minutes, a ship could be seen on the horizon. It slowly sailed forward, and it felt like an eternity before it finally pulled up to the dock. The captain—a young guy with long, shaggy hair—threw a rope ladder over the railing, and the trainers eagerly climbed aboard. Scratching the back of his neck, the man pulled the ladder back up as he looked at the small group.

"Right, dudes," he grinned. "Cabins are totally downstairs. 'Course, you're, like, way welcome to stay up here too. It'll take forever to get back to Olivine, though."

Gin blinked as the captain—if he could even pass off as a convincing one—finished talking. While most of the other trainers seemed more than content to stay on deck with him, she was more than willing to go down to the cabins. Only one of the others, a lanky blonde boy, seemed to agree with her sentiments, and as such they both ended up with their own rooms.

Having just woken up, Gin wasn't tired in the least. She still flopped stomach-down onto one of the beds though, and opened the cabinet next to it in boredom. A couple of trainer's manuals sat inside, and she dully picked one of them up, deciding it was better than nothing…

* * *

Gin winced as the ship's horn blew a few hours later. She'd already read all four of the manuals on the trip, and was admittedly more than a bit relieved to be getting out of her room. Tossing the manuals back into the small cabinet, Gin rolled off the bed and started walking out of the cabin.

When she arrived back on the deck, all of the other trainers were already there. The captain flashed a thumbs-up at the group as he pulled the rope ladder out from his toolbox again, draping it over the side of the boat. Leaving one by one, the group eagerly climbed down to Olivine's dock.

"See ya later, dudes!"

Grinning, the captain waved as the trainers turned to leave. Gin merely rolled her eyes as she got used to walking on land again, quickly striding away from the wooden dock. She put her hand in her pocket just to confirm she still had the potion, and proceeded to look for the lighthouse again.

Fortunately, the building was close to the dock, and Gin sighed as she leaned into the creaky wooden door. It slammed shut behind her as Gin quickly started walking up the winding, circular staircase. She was admittedly out of breath when she got to the top, and she'd stopped keeping track of how long she was taking a while back.

Opening the trap door, Gin walked to the top floor of the lighthouse. The Ampharos, Amphy, was still curled up on its round pillow in the middle of the room, and thankfully Jasmine was there as well. Unfortunately, the brunette had apparently fallen asleep next to the Electric-Type, and Gin sighed.

"Hey, Jasmine!" she called loudly.

Startled, Jasmine blinked as she sat up. Gin pulled the bottle out of her pocket, and a relived smile slowly spread across the shorter girl's face.

"Y-You really got it! Oh, thank you!"

"Hey, I would've gone to Cianwood eventually anyway. It was no big," Gin replied, shrugging.

Gin handed the medicine to Jasmine, and she slowly unscrewed the lid. Weakly opening its eyes, Amphy looked at the bottle as Jasmine held it out. After carefully smelling the contents, it started to drink the liquid, and in a matter of seconds the potion had been completely swallowed.

Jasmine looked hopefully at Amphy as it closed its eyes again. A few moments later, it opened its eyes again and smiled, and a bit of color returned to its face. Holding her hand to Amphy's forehead, Jasmine grinned.

"This is great, Amphy! You're already a little bit better. It might be a day or two before you're all the way well, so still lie down, okay?"

"Pharos," Amphy nodded.

"I think I'll be able to go back to the gym without worrying about you now," Jasmine said reassuringly. She then stood up and looked at Gin thankfully. "Um… Really, I mean it. Thanks a lot for getting the potion… I, uh… Want to give you something."

She reached into the small bag she'd had with her and pulled out a small blue object. When she pressed it into Gin's hand, the gray-haired girl realized it was a Water Stone.

"I… I collect rocks," Jasmine started. "So I have a couple of those already. And I know some of the Water-Types around here evolve with a Water Stone. So, er… You may be able to use it. Now I have to get back to the gym… Thanks again!"

Jasmine was practically glowing as she headed over to the trap door and started climbing down the stairs. Sighing, Gin shook her head and then looked over at Amphy. The Ampharos smiled weakly at her, and Gin grinned slightly.

"See you later, Amphy."

Gin headed on down the staircase herself, relieved that the trip seemed to go more quickly on the way down. Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, Gin paused for a moment and looked down at her hand. She was still holding the Water Stone, and remembered Jasmine's words about evolution.

"Shellder evolves with a Water Stone, doesn't it…"

Gin pulled Gemma's Pokéball off of her belt, and he materialized next to her. The Shellder's tongue lolled out as he blinked at the Water Stone. He then experimentally licked it before Gin had the chance to say anything, and started to glow as Gin disgustedly wiped her hand on her opposite sleeve.

When the glow faded, a larger, spikier shell surrounded Gemma. A round face was slightly visible between the bivalves, and a horn poked out of his forehead. His eyes were still wide and round, but fortunately, his tongue had apparently shrunk a bit as it wasn't hanging out of his mouth anymore.

"Hey, I think I prefer you like this," Gin commented dryly, but smiled slightly.

"Cloy… ster!"

Grinning, Gemma tackled Gin playfully, his horn barely missing Gin's ear. Stumbling and landing ungracefully on her back, Gin winced as she realized how rough the lighthouse's floor was. Gemma perched himself on Gin's chest, his grin still wide.

"Why me?" Gin groaned, closing her eyes in defeat.


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight: Vs Typhlosion!

_Author's Notes_: What is this, Kin shows up again before Suishou? But hey, Kin's the one doing gym battles… And he's going to _learn_ something this chapter, wow… I was going to have Gin mess with Kin's mind a bit more than she does here, but that would probably require a rise in rating, and I want this to stay K plus for as long as possible.

**Chapter Twenty Eight: Vs Typhlosion!**

Gin chewed rather violently on her chicken sandwich as she sat in Olivine's Pokémon Center. She'd finally gotten Gemma back in his Pokéball after a good five minutes of trying to shove him off her chest, and she'd been quite eager to leave him there as she went to go get some food. Swallowing the last bite of her sandwich, Gin frowned and stood up to throw away the plastic wrapper. On most occasions, food did make her feel better, but her torso was still a bit sore…

"At least I can go to the gym now," she grumbled to herself.

As Gin walked back into the lobby, she folded her hands behind her head and sighed. The gym was fairly easy to find, and she doubted Jasmine would actually be difficult, but she still didn't know anything about the brunette's Pokémon. Shrugging, Gin slowly opened the glass door, figuring an unpredictable battle could be fun.

Gin stepped outside, grinning as the door closed behind her. In a town as small as Olivine, it was easy enough to find the gym, even if the tin-box building didn't dominate the skyline like it did. The gym was even fairly close to the Pokémon Center, and Gin's grin widened into a smirk as she started walking.

Following several turns in the winding sidewalk, Gin looked around carefully. True, she probably wouldn't be back to Olivine again unless she had to, but it was still a nice walk. She stretched as she yawned, closing her eyes halfway before putting her arms back to her sides. However, as she took another step, a loud voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey! You!"

Gin groaned quite audibly as she looked up. Kin was leaning on an apartment's fencepost a few yards away, and the dark-haired boy was looking rather sulkily at her. Feeling her face melt into a scowl, Gin rolled her eyes.

"Y'know, I'm not exactly thrilled to see you either, but whatever. This really seems a bit too inconvenient, doesn't it?"

"Hey!" Kin repeated in protest. "I've been training out here. I've got three whole badges now, but I keep losing to Morty, so I thought I could practice around here. I bet I'm doing better than you, though!"

"Five," Gin yawned. "Badges, I mean. And I'm about to go to this town's gym… Or I was, until you interrupted me."

"I don't believe you."

Shrugging, Gin unbuttoned the front of her jacket slightly, revealing the plain t-shirt she was wearing underneath along with the five badges clipped to the inside of it. She felt an extremely satisfied sense of accomplishment as Kin's jaw dropped, and she smirked as she re-buttoned her jacket. The gray-haired girl grinned as Kin forced his mouth closed.

"W-well," he sputtered. "I bet my Pokémon are doing better than yours are!"

"This petty little rivalry seems to be entirely one-sided," Gin droned in reply. "But if you insist, go on. Show them to me, please."

Kin grumbled under his breath as he reached for his Pokéballs—six, Gin noted. He quickly released a Typhlosion, Primeape, Flaafy, Arcanine, Machoke, and Jolteon, and Gin admittedly raised an eyebrow in surprise at a few of them. The Jolteon, Machoke, and Arcanine looked quite decent, at least.

"Huh. I guess I can see why you keep losing, though… Primeape? Flaafy?"

"Wha—? Trap's been with me forever! He's my best Pokémon! Plus, Static's really getting good!"

"I bet. And Static? Please tell me you didn't torture the rest of your poor Pokémon so."

Kin's face reddened slightly. "Static is fitting! Like Spark for Typhlosion, and Needle for Jolteon, and—"

"Where'd you get that Jolteon, anyway?" Gin interrupted, folding her arms across her chest. "Sure, I have an Eevee, but they're not that easy to come by…"

"My mom has a Flareon," Kin grinned. He then got a slightly distant look on his face. "And, uh… My cousin has a Furret, see."

"Ah. Yes, I see. Anyway, it was absolutely fabulous having such a nice spat, but I really need to get going."

Kin looked startled, and hurriedly recalled his Pokémon. He then scrambled after Gin as she started taking a few steps forward; the gym was pretty close to their current location, only a few blocks away, and Gin wanted to get there as soon as possible. However, she would certainly have preferred not to have the extra company…

Frowning, Gin looked over her shoulder. "What are you doing, you idiot?"

"Going to the gym with you, of course! I wanna see what the leader has, so I know how I should practice for her! Besides, I heard the leader's really cute. Have you met her yet?"

"Yes." Gin folded her arms as she stopped walking. "And to be quite frank, she's not my type."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What it sounds like. I do prefer the opposite gender, you know."

Gin stopped suddenly as she heard Kin slap his hand to his mouth. As she turned around, she grinned superiorly when she saw his shocked expression.

"You—you don't mean you like—"

"Oh."

The gray-haired girl suddenly winced as she realized what she'd said. A great way to keep her disguise up… And Kin had just _had_ to twist up her meaning anyway.

"I mean I'm most certainly a female."

Kin's eyes widened further, and he shook his head as he rested his forehead in his palm. Gin merely rolled her own eyes and proceeded to glare.

"If you're completely done ogling at me, I'd like to get to the gym."

"N-no! I'm battling you first! And I'm going to go even harder on you now!"

Gin rubbed her temples, feeling that she was in for an epic waste of time as Kin fumbled for a Pokéball. He released his Typhlosion again, and the Fire-Type cocked his head as he blinked. Sighing, Gin instinctively reached for Gemma's Pokéball—at least she'd have a type advantage—but then she stopped. Grinning, she decided to add a bit of insult to injury and released Magnesia instead.

"Okay, then. I'd like to see you _try_," she smirked.

Kin laughed loudly as he looked at the Magnemite. "Oh, man, this is begging for punishment. Use Fire Punch, Spark!"

Embers started forming around Spark's clenched fist as he paused. He then leaned forward and started to swipe at Magnesia, but Gin yawned.

"Thunder Wave."

Buzzing, Magnesia released a few small sparks from between its magnets. As the static hit Spark's fist, he let out a surprised cry. His arm started to numb, and he stumbled backwards as he dropped the punch.

"Good, Magnesia. Now keep it up with Tri Attack!"

As Magnesia closed its eye, its three screws started to glow. Blue energy shot out of the top screw, forming into a small ray of ice and coating the ground around Spark's feet. Orange flames burst out of the left screw, striking a surprised Spark in the chest. Finally, white electricity crackled out of the right screw, and static surrounded Spark's torso, effectively making a small electric barrier.

"H-huh?" Kin blinked.

"Oh, I'm not done yet. Finish with Thunderbolt."

Large bolts of electricity grew between the Electric-Type's magnets. Before Spark could react, the Thunderbolt hit him dead-on, sending him skidding backwards. He then tumbled forward, landing on his stomach and laying his head down.

"Now I'm done," Gin said victoriously, reaching for Magnesia's Pokéball. "Not bad, Magnesia."

Kin stood agape for a few moments after Gin withdrew the Magnemite. Finally, he realized he should recall Spark as well, and still had a stunned expression as he looked up.

"But—I—"

"Funny. Didn't I beat him before as a Quilava using Midnight? And now with Magnesia… What does that tell you?"

Kin waved his arms frantically in protest. "You're making fun of me, aren't you?"

"Hmph." Gin folded her hands behind her back and turned around again. "Perhaps you watching my battle will help you learn something."

With that, Gin started striding away. Still sputtering, Kin scrambled again to keep up with her. It was really all too much for one day… First Gin had to be a girl, and then she had to beat him.


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine: Vs Steelix!

_Author's Notes_: And we finally get to the Jasmine battle. I left her with both Magnemites just because they are awesome. Also, she has a Metal Coat because, well… She needed one for Steelix, obviously, and I suppose she has a spare or two in case she ever decides to get a Scizor. And I was always kinda disappointed that she didn't have a Scizor… But despite that, it is not the reason that Gin has one. A Scizor, I mean.

**Chapter Twenty Nine: Vs Steelix!**

"H-Hey! Wait!"

Gin sighed as her hand rested on the steel doorknob of Olivine's gym. Kin was still stumbling after her, apparently not having caught her hints to go away. Glaring over her shoulder slightly, the gray-haired girl sighed.

"Whatever. I guess I don't care as long as you shut up. Got it?"

"Got it—oh."

Kin suddenly cut himself off as Gin rolled her eyes. Opening the heavy door, Gin took a few quick steps inside. The gym was small—even more so than Chuck's had been—with a single square room with rocky, natural-looking floor and steel walls. Also, the lights were somewhat dimmed, and Jasmine was leaning against a small metal table in the back, looking a bit spaced out.

"Jasmine?" Gin raised an eyebrow.

The brunette suddenly smiled as she looked up. "Ah, h-hello, Gin! I didn't think you'd be here so soon."

"Well, I am, so… Can we start?"

Jasmine nodded as Gin shrugged. The Gym Leader took a Pokéball off of the table behind her, and slowly pressed the release button. A particularly small Magnemite appeared next to her, buzzing as it levitated near her shoulder. Gin paused, frowning as she reached for one of her Pokéballs.

"I'll lend you Spark," Kin whispered superiorly. "Or my Arcanine, Canis."

Gin snorted. "Yeah, right. Watch and learn."

She quickly reached for Magnesia's Pokéball, releasing her own Magnemite. It gave off a mechanical beep as it blinked at the other Electric-and-Steel-Type across from it. Gin, however, simply smirked.

"Tri Attack, Magnesia."

"Um, try blocking with Thundershock, Magnemite!"

Magnesia droned slightly as its left screw glowed slightly, casting out a small blue beam of ice. However, several small sparks formed between Magnemite's magnets, and launched towards Magnesia's attack. The Thundershock struck the ice, causing it to drop to the floor with a slight thud.

Then, Magnesia's top screw started to crackle with sparks as well. It continued the Tri Attack with a small shot of electricity and aimed carefully for Magnemite. Another Thundershock managed to form in Magnemite's magnets, and it quickly tried to make the attack collide with Magnesia's again. The two electric bursts hit each other, and a loud hissing noised sounded as they faded into smoke. However, a stray spark managed to hit Magnemite, surprising it more than hurting it and causing it to tumble backwards a bit.

Gin grinned as Magnesia's right screw started to glow red, finishing up the Tri Attack. A small stream of embers flew from Magnesia, hitting Magnemite dead on. As the flames hit Magnemite, it buzzed loudly and was shot backwards into the wall, and when it sank to the floor, it was smoking.

"Oh, no… Magnemite!" Jasmine cried.

"Mag…" it buzzed as it tried to lift itself back up. However, it clattered back to the floor after raising itself a few inches off the floor. It had obviously fainted.

Jasmine sighed as she reached back on her table for Magnemite's Pokéball. "Nice try, Magnemite…"

As she withdrew her Pokémon, she grabbed another Pokéball. She released her next Pokémon nervously, trying to grin as she released another Magnemite.

"Another one?" Gin blinked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, uh… I got them both from a friend," she explained, blushing slightly. "Anyway… Magnemite, try a Thunderbolt."

Large sparks began forming between Magnemite's magnets, and a few discharged from its screws. Gin glared unconsciously as she tried to counter.

"Hey, Magnesia, use Thunderbolt too!"

Similarly, Magnesia started forming electricity in its magnets and screws. The two Pokémon launched their attacks almost simultaneously, and the two Thunderbolts practically exploded as they collided, causing stray sparks to fly across the room in various directions. Gin, Kin, and Jasmine ducked slightly in an attempt to avoid being hit, and Gin sighed in annoyance.

After a few seconds, the trio opened their eyes. Gin promptly crossed hers—both Magnemites were laying on the floor in a heap, weakly making electrical noised as they rolled to the side. Evidently, they'd both ended up getting hit by the recoil.

Gin scowled as she withdrew Magnesia, and Jasmine smiled weakly as she recalled Magnemite. Pausing, Gin watched Jasmine reach for her last Pokéball on the table, but Kin was smirking.

"I told you that you should have borrowed from me. I bet her last one's a Magneton."

"Just wait, you idiot, it might be something else."

Sure enough, a few seconds later, Jasmine released her final Pokémon. A huge Steelix materialized next to her, almost reaching the ceiling despite the fact that its tail wound around on the floor multiple times. Gin instantly reached for Gemma's Pokéball, hoping the Cloyster would cooperate. He appeared in front of Gin, grinning as usual.

"Steelix, try Iron Tail!"

"Hm… Use Ice Beam, Gemma."

Steelix roared as it slowly uncoiled and raised its tail. The end of it started to glitter as it lashed towards Gemma, but the Water-and-Ice-Type was still smirking. At the last second, Gemma's horn started to glow faintly, and he shot a large ray of ice at Steelix's tail. The ice spread from the tip backwards, and Steelix had a shocked look on its face. After a few moments, the ice was far enough along its body that it covered the parts of Steelix that were touching the floor, effectively freezing down its bottom half.

"S-Steelix!" Jasmine cried. "Um… Can you try Crunch?"

Steelix nodded slowly, lunging forward with its teeth parted. Gin shouted as it started to clamp down on Gemma, but blinked in confusion as it suddenly released the Cloyster. As it howled in shock, Gemma chuckled, and Gin noticed a thin coating of ice inside Steelix's mouth; Gemma had apparently managed to fire off a small Ice Beam.

Gin smirked. "Good, Gemma. Finish with Water Pulse!"

Smirking as well, Gemma shot a circular wave of water out of his mouth and at Steelix. The attack hit Steelix in the face, causing it to rear back—or as much as it could. Gemma kept the Water Pulse going, and after several seconds, the force of the attack was enough to cause Steelix to crash forward onto the floor. It groaned tiredly, its narrow eyes closing slowly.

"Ah… You did well, Steelix…" Jasmine smiled sadly as she withdrew the Steel-Type.

"Pretty nice, Gemma," Gin said, smirk widening as she withdrew Gemma. She then leaned over to Kin and whispered victoriously, "See? Told you so."

"Sh-Shut up!" he hissed.

"Um, G-Gin?"

The silver-haired girl looked up as Jasmine held out a small, pointed badge. She grinned as she attached it to the inside of her jacket with her other badges.

"Hey, thanks. Pretty fun battle, huh?"

"Yeah," Jasmine sighed. "And, um… There's something else I want to give you…"

"Huh? How come you get everything, Gin?" Kin demanded.

"That's kind of what I want to know," Gin frowned.

"Well…" Jasmine replied as she turned back to her table. "I… I'm just really grateful that you helped Amphy earlier."

"What's Amphy? And that sounds like a really unprecedented act of generosity for you, Gin."

Gin put her hands in her hips as Kin rolled his eyes. "Amphy is the Ampharos in the Lighthouse, you dork. And I just so happened to be going to Cianwood anyway, so I picked up some medicine for it. That's all!"

"Oh… Well… It still meant a lot to me… So here."

Jasmine handed Gin a small sheet of metal that resembled tinfoil. The brunette must have caught Gin's skeptical look, as she giggled and started to explain.

"That's a Metal Coat. There are some Pokémon that can evolve with it, like Steelix! All you have to do is attach it to them and trade. It'll happen during the transfer."

"Huh… And what else can it be used on?"

"Well, I know there are Onix and Scyther," Jasmine answered thoughtfully.

"Scyther?" Gin repeated, realization dawning on her. "Great! Thanks, see you later."

Gin turned towards the door, waving in acknowledgement as Jasmine cried "Good bye!" back. Despite the fact that Kin seemed a bit disappointed to not get the chance to talk to Jasmine, he scrambled after her, looking confused. As the steel door slammed shut behind them, Kin impatiently grabbed Gin's arm.

"Hey! Why'd you seem so excited about Scyther and the Metal Coat?"

"I have a Scyther," Gin replied tersely, shrugging. "Now, if I had someone to trade with…"

"Wait, I'm right here!"

"…Your point?"

Kin rolled his eyes as if it were painfully obvious, not picking up on Gin's sarcasm. "Duh! I want to evolve my Machoke, too!"

"What makes you think I want to trade Theriolt to you of all people?"

"Oh, come on! Please?"

Gin snorted as Kin started to beg—it was almost humorous. The dark-haired boy was starting to plead, and he looked like he was about to get down on his knees.

"All right, I suppose it's convenient enough. You have your Pokédex on you, yes?"

"Of course I do! I know how to trade."

Gin and Kin pulled their Pokédexes out of their pockets, along with Theriolt and Swing's Pokéballs. Quickly, Gin released Theriolt, and the Scyther grinned cockily as he looked around. Gin was still holding Jasmine's spare Metal Coat, and Theriolt poked it with his blade as he looked at it.

"Yeah, Theriolt? You mind hanging onto this for a few moments?"

"Scy!"

Theriolt seemed to catch on, and he nodded. Gin instantly draped the item over Theriolt's back, and then withdrew him again. She then turned back to Kin, shrugging.

"Okay, whatever. Here it goes."

Holding up her Pokédex, Gin waited as Kin did the same. They then held their Pokéballs up to the large blue buttons on the corner of the devices, which started to glow as the balls made contact. Beeping, the dexes droned "Transfer complete" in computerized voices.

"So… They're both evolved now?"

"Should be. Now give me Theriolt back."

"But what if I want a Scizor?" Kin replied childishly, putting a hand on his hip as he grinned.

"You're dumber than I thought. Do you really want me to keep your new Machamp? I mean, I definitely don't want him, so I'd probably just leave him somewhere and—"

"You wouldn't!"

Kin practically shrieked as he fumbled to put Theriolt's Pokéball onto the button on Gin's Pokédex. Smirking, Gin slowly returned Swing's Pokéball as well. Seconds later, the dexes droned "Transfer complete" again, and Gin proudly put Theriolt's Pokéball back on her belt.

"Of course I wouldn't, but you had that coming to you, you know."

"I… I know," Kin mumbled.

He still couldn't help feeling insulted, however, as Gin threw back her head and laughed.


	31. Chapter Thirty: Vs Graveller!

_Author's Note_: Yay, Suishou gets a chapter all to himself… And he will be meeting up with Gin and Kin soon. Just not yet.

Oh, and it is amazing that so many anonymous reviewers are asking so many good questions… However… Anonymous reviews do not come with nice little reply buttons like signed reviews do. So just a few quick notes on names… Yes, Gemma does sound girly, but it is Latin for "gem"—and yes, I am also aware that _gemma_ is a feminine noun, but names don't necessarily _have_ to follow the ending rules in Latin. Also, Hikaru is technically a girl or guy's name; it's Hikari that's girl-specific. Oh, and Anonymous, your question will be answered later… In a few chapters, I think.

**Chapter Thirty: Vs Graveller!**

"Professor… That report isn't even due until next week!"

Suishou sighed as Professor Elm continued typing away on his laptop. The professor simply nodded and muttered under his breath as he started to slow down and look up.

"Yes, but Suishou, I have a decent lead. Oman was an excellent help in the discussion in my conference the other day, and this is supposed to be a summary of everything I've learned about him."

"All right…" the redhead mumbled.

As he resignedly headed towards the stairs in the back of the lab—he'd been helping Professor Elm sort out his notes—Suishou frowned slightly. Somehow, during the time he'd been traveling with Gin, the lab had gotten even messier. Almost as soon as he'd gotten back, he'd had to spend at least a week sorting through the cabinets and sweeping up messes.

Arriving on the second floor landing, Suishou slowly headed into the small kitchen area. He started to duck down and pull a pot out of one of the cabinets; Professor Elm hadn't said anything, but Suishou knew the man hadn't eaten since early that morning, and he could at least bring the professor some instant noodles.

However, as Suishou pulled the pot out, he suddenly dropped it, crying in surprise. A pair of large round eyes stared out at him from the cabinet, blinking wearily. Seconds later, Oman slowly crawled out onto the floor, the newly-evolved Omastar wringing his tentacles nervously.

"Um, Oman? What is it?"

"Star…"

Oman attached a tentacle to Suishou's leg and started to pull his trainer behind him gently. Suishou stumbled slightly as Oman led him down the small hallway leading to the lab's two bedrooms. When they arrived at Suishou's door, the redhead slowly pushed it open, and gasped.

"Geo, no!"

A particularly large Graveller was perched quite prominently on the weak spring mattress on the lower bunk of Suishou's bed, and the springs groaned horribly under his weight. In two of the Rock-Type's four arms, a binder was raised into the air, a few loose pages threatening to fall out. Suishou barely managed to grab the binder as it slid out of Geo's hands, moments before it would have hit the floor. The redhead sighed in relief as he stood up, clutching the report tightly.

"Grav…" Geo frowned.

"I'm sorry, Geo, but this is important!" Suishou cried.

Sighing, he reached for Geo's Pokéball and quickly recalled the Rock-Type. As he turned out of the room, Oman crawled after him, blinking again. The Omastar had always had a tendency to hide when Geo was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing, and Suishou couldn't say he blamed him. He'd recently caught the Graveller, and despite the fact that he felt a bit sorry for Geo for getting bored so easily, Geo did tend to lose important files when he was upset.

Deciding to wait just a moment to restart on lunch, Suishou quickly ducked downstairs again. Professor Elm had apparently paused for a moment—he had stood up to stretch his hands—and Suishou hurriedly held out the binder.

"Um, Professor, this is the file you were looking for earlier, right?"

"Oh, yes, thanks! Where'd you find it, by the way?"

"Well… Geo had it…"

The professor's forehead creased as he sat back down. "Again?"

"Y-yes."

Professor Elm hesitated for a moment as he set the thick binder down on the table. He then looked back at Suishou somewhat tiredly.

"I suppose he needs to get outside more."

Suishou scratched the back of his neck. "But Professor! You know I had to resort your entire file on Rock, Ground, and Steel-Types after you tried to dig out that reference sheet on fossilized Pokémon, and I haven't had time to take him for a walk—"

"Suishou," Professor Elm interrupted. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but that is not what I meant."

"Oh. Then what did you mean?"

"While Oman made incredible progress while you were traveling, so did you. I think perhaps it would be a good idea for you to go out again for a little while."

"R-really?" Suishou blinked. "But…"

The professor smiled sheepishly. "Don't worry. If things get too terrible around here, I'll be sure to call you."

"Thanks, Professor!"

Suishou grinned as he threw his arms around Professor Elm's shoulders. Chuckling, the young man gently shooed Suishou off of him.

"You're welcome."

"Okay! I just need to go upstairs and make sure I have everything."

Suishou scurried up the stairs again excitedly, but had to slow down when he got to the top. Oman was still sitting there, albeit a few feet back from the landing, fortunately. The fossil Pokémon looked up at him with a confused look.

"Oman, we get to leave again!"

"Star?"

Suishou smiled as he pulled Oman's Pokéball off of his belt. "Yep! I know you like stopping in Violet, right?"

As he withdrew the Omastar, Suishou tiptoed over to the bathroom. Coro had developed a spontaneous habit of sleeping in the bathroom sink instead of on the top bunk of Suishou's bed since they'd gotten back, and sure enough, the Corsola was comfortably sitting in her favorite place. The redhead reached for Coro's Pokéball, but then stopped as he heard a scratching noise from the tub.

"Toto?"

The Feraligatr was cowering behind the battered shower curtain, and Suishou felt his mouth drop open as he tried to figure out why. He'd never thought Toto was scared of anything, and in fact, the Water-Type was one of his most cheerful Pokémon on a normal basis. Then Suishou looked back over at Coro, and when she shifted slightly, he could see a grin on her face. He suddenly doubted she was actually asleep, and slowly walked over to the sink.

"Um, Coro?"

He gently tapped the Corsola, and she giggled as she opened her eyes. "Sola?"

"Did you, uh, do something to Toto?"

"So—la!"

Coro jumped up onto the edge of the sink. She then shot an Ice Beam out of the horn on her head, and Toto ducked surprisingly quickly. The ice hit the shower wall, freezing a small portion of it. Suishou sighed as he withdrew Coro, much to Toto's relief.

"Sorry, Toto."

He then recalled Toto and headed back across the hall to his bedroom. Despite the fact that Geo apparently enjoyed simulating his favorite attack, Rock Slide, by substituting rocks for various objects in Suishou's room, his two Grass-Types still managed to sleep rather peacefully in the bedroom. His Gloom, Oddi, had taken over the top bunk in place of Coro, and his Meganium, Chi, often curled up in the closet with her long neck reaching out into the main area of the room.

Suishou carefully stepped on the ladder to the top bunk, and grinned when he saw Oddi on the bed. The Gloom had apparently just woken up, and she blinked sleepily at him as she yawned.

"G-Gloom…?"

"Hi, Oddi! Professor Elm says we get to take a trip again!"

Oddi nodded in agreement slowly, but was apparently still tired. She tumbled back onto the bed a few moments later, and Suishou laughed slightly as he recalled her. The ladder creaked as he stepped back down to the floor and turned around.

"Chi! Chi?"

After a few moments, Chi shuffled out of the closet, bending her neck down so she could rub her face against Suishou's. She was easily the most affectionate of his Pokémon, and Suishou grinned as he hugged her neck.

"Hi, Chi. We get to go out again, okay?"

"Meg!"

Chi nodded as Suishou took her Pokéball off her belt and recalled her. He slowly walked out of his room and downstairs, and Professor Elm quickly looked up when Suishou arrived at the bottom of the steps.

"Ready?"

"Yeah!" Suishou grinned again.

"Be careful, okay, Suishou?"

"I'll try to, Professor. As long as you try to stay organized."

Professor Elm sighed but smiled as he ruffled Suishou's hair. "Yes, Mother. Have fun, all right?"

"All right!"

Suishou rapidly hugged the professor again and smiled back as he ducked away towards the lab's door. Professor Elm had a bit of a reconciled look on his face as he watched Suishou leave, the redhead noticed. However, Suishou tried not to dwell on it as he opened the door.

Because traveling on his own would be interesting, even if it would take a while to get used to not having Gin around.


	32. Chapter Thirty One: Vs Scizor!

_Author's Notes_: More of Suishou, yay… And… Oh snap. Gin, Kin, and Suishou are all together now. This shouldn't be of _too much_ consequence… Hopefully. And Eusine is back, but don't worry. It's only for a few minutes. Cape Man has to show up every once in a while, after all…

Oh, by the way, yes, Gin is "allowed" to cross her eyes. So she has a couple of times, but just because that is Lynnie's habit in Hoenn Adventures does not mean that Gin is never allowed to.

**Chapter Thirty One: Vs Scizor!**

"This is where Gin and I stopped that time…"

Suishou smiled as he stopped at the junction at Route 36. After he'd left New Bark Town, it had been easy to get to Violet; he remembered well enough from when he and Gin had visited. Of course, he'd stopped to let Oman out like he promised—the Omastar seemed to get nostalgic in Violet, as that had been where Suishou had gotten him.

"Let's see…"

Pulling his Pokégear out of his jeans pocket, Suishou hit the device's map button. When the map appeared on the screen, he carefully checked it. From his location, he could either go north to Ecruteak, or south to Goldenrod. Since he'd already visited Goldenrod with Gin, he decided to go to Ecruteak instead.

"I heard it's really interesting in Ecruteak," Suishou grinned to himself.

As he slipped his Pokégear back into his pocket, Suishou followed the northern turn in the dirt path. He had to carefully duck under a few of the rare low tree branches to avoid hitting them, but soon the trees started getting closer together and it was harder to dodge. Soon, the trees spread out again, and Suishou blinked as he stopped walking.

He'd arrived in a small, rustic-looking town that was apparently encompassed by trees. All of the buildings were wooden and looked similar to temples. In the distance, there were two large, pagoda-like towers, except one of them looked like the top of it had been burned off.

"Wow," Suishou commented. "It's kind of pretty…"

"Of course it is."

"Ah!"

Suishou cried in surprise as he heard a voice. He looked up and saw that the Pokémon Center was nearby, and a brunette man in a purple cape was leaning against the building. He gave Suishou a brief look and apparently decided that the redhead was interesting, as he continued to speak.

"My name is Eusine," he introduced, holding out his hand. "Ecruteak is my hometown, and it's called the City of Legends."

"I'm Suishou… And why is it called that?"

Suishou blinked curiously as he shook Eusine's hand. The man smiled mysteriously, taking a few steps away from the Pokémon Center and spreading his arms.

"It's because legendary Pokémon once roosted here, and ever-so-rarely make a return. Until recently, there were even some lying in rest under the Burnt Tower—the short one there—and I have been tracking them ever since they escaped. Most of the trainers here practice spiritual training in hopes of gaining communication with the legends."

"Legendary Pokémon?" Suishou repeated, feeling his heart beat quicker in excitement. If he could get data on them in his Pokédex, it would help Professor Elm tremendously… "R-Really? Which ones?"

"Oh? I see you're interested," Eusine chuckled. "The bird of fire, Ho-Oh, once occupied the Tin Tower… And Lugia once live in the Burnt Tower. Before it burned, of course. The legendary trio—Raikou, Entei, and Suicune—were dormant in the Burnt Tower's basement after the fire, and they are the ones I'm seeking."

"But what made them wake up?"

At this, Eusine started grumbling under his breath, but quickly straightened himself up. "Well… According to legend, the three of them would awaken when they sensed a brave trainer, in hopes of testing them. Around a month ago, there was one trainer who _accidentally_ came upon them and woke them from their slumber… A brash, obnoxious boy with gray hair…"

Suishou burst into a grin. "Oh, do you mean Gin Shinu? She's not a boy!"

"What would an innocent-looking trainer like you have to do with him—wait," Eusine cut himself of, sounding suspicious. "What did you just say?"

"Sh-she's not a boy?" Suishou repeated, suddenly wondering if he'd said something wrong.

"I… I…" Eusine rested his forehead in his gloved hand. "That scoundrel! That deviant! Now I am even more convinced that Gin is not worthy!"

"Um… I think Gin's worthy…" Suishou cut in meekly.

"Ahem. It was very nice speaking with you, Suishou, but if there is anything else you wish to learn, I must request that you look it up on your own now. Have a nice day."

With that, Eusine gave a very forced-looking bow and turned away. Wilting slightly was he watched the taller male leave, Suishou sighed. He wondered how Gin and Eusine had even met in the first place, and he had wanted to ask Eusine a bit more about the legendary Pokémon…

Hoping there would be a few books available in the Pokémon Center, Suishou slowly walked to the small building and opened the wooden door. A small wooden shelf was near the entrance, along with a round, cushioned chair. Feeling a bit more excited, Suishou started looking at the titles on the books' spines. He reached for a book entitled _Suicune: Legend of Water_ when the door suddenly opened again and then slammed shut.

"Why the heck are you still following me? I told you to go away! Shouldn't you be fighting Morty?"

"Hey… That's really mean, you know…"

"Well, maybe if you weren't so annoying—"

Timidly peering over the now open book, Suishou's eyes widened. Ironically, there was Gin, apparently ready to hand her Pokémon over to be healed. Close behind her was a rather sulky Kin, who was standing with his arms crossed over his chest and with a childish pout on his face.

"I'm not annoying!" the dark-haired boy protested. "Besides, I just—"

"Theriolt, come here!"

Gin quickly reached to her belt and grabbed a Pokéball, releasing a large Scizor. The eye-shaped patterns on his claws glinted, and Kin gulped as he took a step backwards. Smirking, Gin put a hand on her hip.

"Yeah, I thought so—Suishou? What are you doing here?"

Gin raised an eyebrow suspiciously as she spotted Suishou. Nervously, Suishou closed the book and set it back on the self. He scratched the back of his neck as Kin looked up as well.

"Um, well," Suishou started. "Professor Elm said that I could go out for a while since he's doing pretty well right now…"

"I doubt that," Gin replied, rolling her eyes. "That lab is a mess, at least from what I've seen."

"Hey! When were you ever at Professor Elm's lab?" Kin cut in.

"One time with Suishou. When have _you _been there?"

"I live practically next to the lab!"

"Oh, how… convenient," Gin yawned. "Now, I think I was talking to Suishou, not you…"

Reaching for Theriolt's Pokéball again, Gin quickly recalled the metal bug and looked back at Suishou. Kin sputtered in protest, clearly angry that Gin was ignoring him.

"Anyway… How's Totodile doing?"

Suishou blinked—the question was unexpected but appreciated. "Oh, Toto's great! He evolved into Feraligatr last week. All of my other Pokémon evolved too!"

"Huh. You're doing a lot better than I thought you'd be," Gin commented. "'Course, I would have thought he'd have evolved a bit earlier than that, but oh well… Hey, you wanna ditch this guy and we can go around like the good old days?"

"You mean I can go with you again?" Suishou cried.

"Sure, why not. It would be a lot better company than Kin. But then again, I'm not sure if that's really saying much…"

"Hey!"

Kin waved his arms in protest, and Gin snorted. Despite the fact that it would have been funny under other circumstances, Suishou felt his eyes widen, and hoped sincerely that anything that happened to the three of them would not result in anything dangerous in the near future.


	33. Chapter Thirty Two: Vs Red Gyarados!

_Author's Note_: Yay, Mahogany Town… And the Lake of Rage… We all love the free Red Gyarados, right? Although Gin is not really going to keep it for very long.

**Chapter Thirty Two: Vs Red Gyarados!**

"Are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Of course I'm sure! I don't see a Pokégear on _you_ anywhere, so how would you know if—"

"Um, guys… Could you… maybe stop fighting?"

Suishou squeaked into Gin and Kin's argument. The trio had somehow managed to leave Ecruteak's Pokémon Center all in one piece, but it was a miracle that Kin's incessant chattering hadn't caused Gin to explode yet. The gray-haired girl was currently glaring at Kin as she checked her Pokégear's map feature and slipped it back in her pocket.

"And even so, this happens to be the only route from Ecruteak to Mahogany. There's no way that even a complete idiot like you could get lost."

"H-hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"My point exactly."

Suishou sighed as the pair continued to squabble. Gin had wanted to leave for Mahogany Town, having learned there was a gym there, and Kin had decided to tag along as well to check it out. While Gin had basically offered to let Suishou come along, she seemed far more reluctant when it came to Kin.

Rolling her eyes, Gin turned away from Kin and sped up slightly. On Route 42's rocky dirt path, it was slightly impressive that Gin hadn't tripped yet… But then again, at least the trail was fairly straight.

"Are we almost there?" Kin sulked.

"No," Gin snapped. She then grabbed Suishou by the arm and whispered, "Yes, we are, actually."

"O-oh," Suishou blinked, stumbling a bit.

The path slowly narrowed out after a few moments, and a few rock outcroppings started to rise up in front of them. There was a small gap in the rock walls that the path still went through, and the trio had to go single-file to get through. Suishou was still walking behind Gin, so he almost crashed into her as she stopped walking suddenly.

"Hey, what's up?" Kin demanded from a few feet behind them.

"…It's a hermit town, that's what!" Gin snapped.

Kin crossly pushed around Suishou and Gin, giving Gin a quick disbelieving look. However, he stumbled to a stop as well as he looked around in confusion. Curiously, Suishou tried to stand on his tiptoes and look around Gin's shoulder, and blinked.

Mahogany Town was evidently surrounded by low, jagged mountains, and the town itself was small and rather quaint. Most of the houses were wooden and looked like small cottages, complete with window shutters and lightly smoking chimneys. At least there was a Pokémon Center near the town's entrance, and the red roof made it stick out quite badly from the rest of the buildings.

"This is worse than Ecruteak," Gin grumbled, slowly taking a few steps towards the Pokémon Center.

"Where's the gym, huh?" Kin smirked with a look on his face that read "You were wrong, just admit it."

"I'll find out."

Suishou sighed as Gin rolled her eyes at Kin. Fortunately they arrived at the Pokémon Center a few moments later, and Gin dropped interest in Kin as she looked at a few small groups of trainers hanging around the lobby. She quickly approached one of the trainers and tapped him on the shoulder, clearly not worrying that she was cutting into his conversation.

"I just got here. Where's the gym?"

"He-Hey!" The boy glared as he turned away from the other boy he was talking to. "Watch it, wise guy—"

"Don't be a jerk, Jon," the other boy teased. He then turned to Gin and suddenly looked more serious. "It's just past the Poké Mart, but I wouldn't bother if I were you. The place is locked up tightly right now…"

"Why?" Kin cut in as well.

"Didn't you know?" Jon crossed his arms over his chest, blowing his long red bangs out of his eyes in irritation. "Pryce, the leader, doesn't want to risk anything at the moment… Team Rocket's up at the Lake of Rage, and he's paranoid."

"Where's the Lake of Rage?" Suishou asked curiously.

"About ten minutes north of here," the other boy went on. "You really can't miss the path. It's the only one out of here besides the east and west exits."

"All right, that's where we're going then," Gin announced. "Come on. We're kicking those guys out of here so I can get to the gym." She then started grumbling under her breath. "I can't believe those losers are up to something else…"

Gin turned straight back to the sliding glass door and hurriedly opened it. As Kin and Suishou hurried after her, Kin tugged on Suishou's sleeve and lowered his voice.

"Hey, Suishou. Do you know what Team Rocket is?"

"Well, um… Gin and I ran into them once a while ago… It was in Azalea Town."

"I never heard of them! What do they do?"

"Well…" Suishou tapped his chin thoughtfully. "They said something about selling Slowpoke tails, so I guess they're Pokémon thieves. I think Gin knows more about them than I do, though. She heard about them from her brother, I think, who heard about them from someone else."

"That sounds… accurate."

Kin felt his eyebrow twitch as he and Suishou hurried after Gin.

* * *

"This is ridiculous."

Gin was still grumbling under her breath as the trio arrived on Route 43. Instead of the rocky soil around Route 42 and Mahogany Town, the area looked fairly… normal. There were trees growing along the route, and there was a manicured dirt path leading further north. The only thing that looked out of place was a large gatehouse several yards down the path. However, there was a small sliver of space between the building and the thick growth of trees that looked big enough to walk through.

"It's better than before, right?" Suishou blinked.

"I guess," Gin sighed. "That gatehouse seems pretty suspicious to me, though…"

"…Why?" Kin questioned.

"Just think about it, you idiot. Why the heck would someone go through the trouble of putting a building like that out here in the middle of… well, nothing? Besides, it's not even well built."

"Oh." Kin replied. "Right. I knew that. Let's sneak around it, then."

"Exactly what I was going to say next," Gin snorted.

Again, the three of them had to walk single-file to get between the trees and the building. Gin felt her back scrape against the tree trunks once or twice, but at least she didn't hit the gatehouse… It was wooden, but it obviously had been thrown together quickly, and Gin suspected she would get a splinter (or five) if she wasn't careful.

After a several surprisingly silent moments, the three trainers managed to squeeze around the building and back onto the open path. A few feet later, the path started to widen out, and a large clearing was visible ahead of them. There was a rather oddly-shaped lake in the middle of the clearing—it looked vaguely round, but there were several other round areas sticking out around the edges of the lake, like there had been puddles that got deep enough to join it.

"I… I don't see anyone here," Suishou said nervously. "They're not going to sneak up on us, are they?"

"Don't be so sc—" Gin started.

However, before she could finish her sentence, there was a loud splash and roar from the middle of the lake. A red flash burst through the surface, and a giant Gyarados was suddenly towering over them.

A giant _red_ Gyarados.

"Why is it red?" Kin demanded. "Aren't Gyarados supposed to be blue?"

"Don't ask me!" Gin retorted. "I'm a bit more concerned as to why it's so angry! Not to mention why it came out of the water as soon as we got here…"

The Gyarados roared again and lashed forward with its mouth gaping. Kin and Gin darted to the left and right, while Suishou stumbled backwards. Fortunately, the Gyarados's face simply crashed into the shore, and it glared as it pulled itself out of the bank. Thinking quickly, Gin grabbed Magnesia's Pokéball and released the Magnemite.

"Magnesia, use Thunderbolt!"

"Mag…"

Magnesia buzzed as sparks started to form between its magnets. It then shot large bolts of electricity at the Gyarados, and the water crackled around it as the attack hit. Roaring in pain instead of irritation, the red Water-Type flailed in the water, causing large waves to crash over the lake.

"Okay, that's irritating," Gin mumbled. "Use Thunder Wave this time."

A smaller wave of electricity flowed out of the screw on Magnesia's head, hitting Gyarados's tail and spreading over its long body. Slowly, the Water-Type started to numb, and it had a shocked look on its face as it stopped moving. Magnesia then launched another Thunderbolt, once again hitting Gyarados dead-on. This time, Gyarados flopped forward into the water, creating a huge wave as it crashed to the surface.

Smirking, Gin pulled an empty Pokéball out of her pocket and tossed it at Gyarados. The ball barely twitched before locking shut, and Gin jogged out to get it as it drifted to the shore. Frowning, she rubbed the water off of the Pokéball as she picked it up, but then grinned as she turned around.

"So, do you think this Gyarados has anything to do with Team—"

Gin was once again cut off by a loud buzzing sound from Magnesia. It started to glow, and suddenly it split into three separate magnet units. One was still facing upwards, but the other two were tilted slightly down and to the side.

"Magneton…" it beeped.

"Sweet," Gin grinned, reaching for Magnesia's Pokéball. As she withdrew it, she turned back to Suishou and Kin. "So, as I was saying…"

"You were going to gloat, weren't you?" Kin glared. "I mean, I could've caught it just as easily! And I need something cool like that! Do you have any idea how much I could hold it over my cousin's head if I—"

"Um, I don't think that's what she meant," Suishou pointed out.

"Of course," Gin sighed. "I was going to say that maybe this Gyarados has something to do with Team Rocket. Given that, you know, it's out of the ordinary. It could be…"

"…another one of their experiments?"

A different voice finished off Gin's statement as a shadow appeared above the three trainers. Soon after, a large, orange dragon Pokémon landed on the ground near them, smiling as it stretched its small wings. Then, a tall man with spiky red hair climbed off of the Dragonite's back, straightening his black cape as he stepped onto the ground and recalled his Pokémon.

"I thought something might be happening around here when I heard stories of a strangely colored Pokémon," he explained. "It looks like I'm right."

"And who are you again?" Gin asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Lance," he introduced. "May I ask your names…?"

"Gin Shinu," Gin replied, still a bit wary. "This kid is Suishou, and the idiot in the red bandana over there is Kin."

"Hey!" Kin protested.

Lance chuckled. "Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you. I take it you three are investigating Team Rocket as well."

"Well, sort of, I think," Suishou answered.

"Great; that makes this convenient. I've heard they have a base in Mahogany, so with the four of us searching, it should make things much easier."

"Yeah! I like how this guy thinks," Kin grinned, suddenly forgetting Gin's recent insult.

"I suppose." Gin pinched the bridge of her nose. "But if anything weird happens, it's either your fault or his fault, got it?"

"Wait, what?"

"I understand," Lance answered, smiling slightly. "Fortunately, it will only take us a few minutes to walk back—I believe Dragonite is quite tired, anyway."

"All right…"

Gin sighed, trailing behind the three males carefully. Kin apparently had instantly decided to go along with what Lance was doing, and Suishou… Well, he trusted everyone, evidently.

However, while this Lance did seem fairly trustworthy, Gin still felt there was going to be some kind of accident during this whole deal.


	34. Chapter Thirty Three: Vs Electrode II!

_Author's Note_: Ah, that Rocket base in Mahogany is so… irritating. Distorted music and exploding Electrodes just make things fun, right? (cough) Anyway, Gin's rashness was bound to get her in trouble sooner or later…

**Chapter Thirty Three: Vs Electrode II!**

"Isn't there any way back to Mahogany that's a bit… quicker than this?"

Gin glared over her shoulder as Kin started grumbling. Fortunately, he wasn't too audible for once, but it was still irritating to say in the least. Suishou sighed and Lance blinked curiously as the gray-haired girl snapped back at Kin.

"No. There's not. So stop complaining and keep walking."

"Do they always fight this much?" Lance questioned.

"Yes… I, um… I'm kind of getting used to it."

As the quartet continued following the path away from the Lake of Rage, the dilapidated gatehouse came into view again. Gin groaned as Kin's eyes lit up.

"You know, having to squeeze around that building was really annoying. Let's just go through it this time, I bet there's no one in it!"

"Kin, gatehouses are put up for a reason," Gin frowned.

"Well, I'm going."

"Oh, no, you're not. If you go alone, you'll trip or do something else stupid, and—"

Gin tried to grab Kin by the back of his vest as he started walking ahead, but she couldn't catch him in time. Rubbing her temples, she beckoned to Lance and Suishou, and started following Kin.

"We might as well…"

Managing to push ahead of Kin, Gin shoved open the building's rickety door. It creaked and swung on its hinges as she stepped inside, blinking. There were no windows or lights, so the only light available was coming through the doorway, and she couldn't see clearly…

"Why aren't there any lights in here?"

As if on cue of Kin's whining, a pair of flashlights suddenly lit up near the opposite end of the gatehouse—it was technically the front of the building, though, Gin reminded herself. In the dim light, a pair or leering faces was slightly visible.

"Hey! Don't think you can avoid the tollbooth!"

"Yeah, how'd you get around?"

As the two men glared, Gin raised an eyebrow. "Tollbooth? So that's what this dump is?"

"It's our tollbooth for… fund raising," one of the men explained. "You see, Team Rocket has a 'show' at the Lake of Rage, so we're charging people to go see it, and—"

"Hey, you don't just say stuff like that to anybody you want to!"

Gin rolled her eyes as she looked back at Lance, Kin, and Suishou, and they nodded at her. Obviously, the other three had figured out exactly what she had… Team Rocket really did have something to do with the red Gyarados.

"So… By _show_, I'm guessing you mean that red Gyarados that I just caught?" Gin smirked as she pulled Gyarados's Pokéball off of her belt and tossed it in between her hands. "Because it was pretty lame, even for free."

"You—!"

"Give that back!"

Fortunately, Gin was just tall enough that when the two Rocket grunts jumped at her, she was able to hold the ball out of their reach. Unfortunately, though, the taller of the two grunts bumped into her side, and the Pokéball slipped from her hand and fell to the floor. As it rolled away slightly, all six people in the room started scrambling for it.

"Ah, Gin, I've got it!"

After a few seconds of confusion, Suishou managed to grab the ball and scurried over to Gin, smiling widely. Just before Gin could take it, however, she glared over Suishou's shoulder.

"Watch out, kid!"

One of the Rockets dove into Suishou, grabbing the short boy by the waist. Gin hurriedly took a step forward, but the other Rocket managed to elbow her in the side, and she winced as she grabbed her stomach.

"You two are coming with us, and we're taking our Gyarados too!"

The flashlights were suddenly clicked off, casting the tollbooth into darkness again. Lance and Kin stood in silence for a moment before fumbling around on the floor. Eventually, they managed to find the flashlights, and, after turning them back on, found that the room was deserted.

"Th-they took Gin and Suishou?" Kin blinked, too dumbfounded to state anything more than the obvious. "What do we do?"

"We go after them, of course," Lance grinned reassuringly. "It's just another reason to get to the bottom of this Team Rocket mess, isn't it?"

"But how do we find them?"

Lance suddenly fiddled around with a small pouch he'd attached to his belt and pulled out a small transceiver-like device. It beeped and buzzed as he turned it on, and Lance adjusted a small knob at the top of it.

"I've been picking up some kind of electric signals around here, and that's probably how they're altering the lake enough to produce Pokémon like that Gyarados," Lance started. "All we have to do is track these waves to their source, which should be somewhere in Mahogany Town."

"Oh, and that is _not_ a needle in a haystack if I ever saw one," Kin grumbled.

Perhaps it was a good thing that the static of Lance's device was so loud; it droned out Kin's complaint, so the caped man couldn't hear him as they started walking out of the tollbooth…

* * *

"Don't even think about trying to untie yourselves. The Electrodes will explode if you do."

"And we'll be back later."

Those were the last words Gin and Suishouheard from the two Rocket grunts as they were shoved into a small generator room. Unfortunately, when they'd been grabbed in the gatehouse, the two men had had ropes on them, which they'd promptly used to tie up their "captives." The Rockets had then proceeded to shove them back to Mahogany Town and into a small building that resembled a normal Pokémart.

The catch was, of course, that there were several maze-like floors beneath the building. Had it only been one floor, Gin wouldn't have minded, but having to stumble down staircases with a rope around her ankles was not exactly pleasant. Suishou looked quite a bit worse than she did, though; he was out of breath, and his long hair was sticking to his cheeks.

"Um, G-Gin? Is it my fault we're here?" Suishou whispered. "I mean, if I hadn't grabbed Gyarados's Pokéball..."

Gin rolled her eyes. "Come on, kiddo, it was worth it to watch those guys get so upset over it. Besides, if they want Gyarados that badly, I'm glad we took it. You... do still have it, right?"

"Yep! I managed to put the Pokéball into my pocket before they tied us up. But I guess it looked kind of like I dropped it, because my hand slipped a few times," Suishou answered thoughtfully. "Maybe that's why they're leaving?"

"I'd ask for it back, then, if you had your hands free," Gin grumbled. "Wait... do you think if we get the Electrodes to explode, it'll make the generator blow up, too?"

"I... I don't know... But..."

"Actually, I have an idea. Trust me, it'll get us out of here much quicker than Kin will..."

* * *

"Ah, here it is."

Lance paused in front of a small building with a plaque above the door that read "Mahogany Poké Mart." Kin blinked as he looked up at the Mart, and then at Lance.

"Are you sure about this?"

"My receiver seems to be sure," Lance replied as the device started beeping even louder than it had been before. "I'm getting the same wave frequency here that I did at the lake."

"All right..."

Sighing, Kin followed Lance into the building as the red-haired man slowly opened the wooden door. Oddly enough, even though the small room was lit up, there weren't any customers, and there wasn't even a clerk at the counter. The shelves were almost bare, and the one window was cracked. Kin blinked dubiously as he cleared his throat.

"Um, Lance, I don't think..."

"Hold on a moment, please, Kin."

Lance knelt down after taking a few steps forward, running his hands over the floor tiling. After a few seconds of feeling around, he dug his fingernails into a loose floor tile and ripped it upwards. A rickety staircase was revealed beneath the floor panel, and Lance smiled in satisfaction as he stood up.

"Ah... I regret breaking the floor tile, but that was the only way to do it. Let's hurry..."

"R-right behind you."

Kin grinned as he followed Lance down the stairs; he was actually starting to be impressed with Lance. The staircase creaked as they waled down, and when they arrived in the corridor downstairs, Kin blinked again. It was still as dimly lit as the first floor, with a few bare bulbs lining the ceiling. The hallway took a turn immediately ahead of them, and as Lance and Kin looked around the corner, they saw that it curved around even more after that.

Suddenly, there was a scuffling sound ahead of them along with a dark shadow. Lance instinctively reached out, and when he grabbed the figure, it sputtered.

"Lemme go! Now!"

A short, female Rocket grunt was struggling to get out of Lance's grip. The redhead loosened up slightly, but didn't let go. Glaring through her long, brown bangs, the girl calmed down slightly, but still looked stubborn.

"Excuse me, but you wouldn't happen to know if there are two... prisoners being held in here, would you?"

"O'course there are. I heard they're sittin' in the generator room," she huffed, looking away indignantly. "But how'd y'all get in here, anyway? You ain't even in a uniform! Are you new or somethin'?"

"Why the heck would we want to join Team Rocket?" Kin rolled his eyes. "We're here to get Gin and Suishou back..."

"Kin!" Lance whispered sharply, but it was too late.

"Y'all are intruders?" The grunt's eyes widened as she gasped. "There ain't no way I'm lettin' you past here!"

"I'm sorry, miss, but we're going to have to get through here," Lance tried. "You see, we already know about the signals coming from here, and now that you've mentioned the generator... we know exactly where they're coming from."

"That room needs passwords anyhow, and them passwords are sittin' pretty in two encrypted computers downstairs," the grunt went on. "And like I said, I can't..."

"Oh, be quiet."

Kin impatiently reached for Trap's Pokéball and released the Primeape. Trap's ears twitched as he started hopping from foot to foot, and he glared at the Rocket. The girl's eyes widened as Kin started speaking again.

"Trap, use Karate Chop!"

Trap swiftly dove forward, giving the grunt a quick swipe to the shoulder. She flew backwards a few feet and landed in a crumpled heap near the wall. Kin grinned at Trap before withdrawing him, but his grin faded when he saw Lance's stern expression.

"Was that really necessary, Kin?"

"Oh, come on! She wouldn't have moved otherwise! Besides, now we know about the computers. Let's go!"

Lance sighed, walking briskly as he followed Kin through the winding hallways in search of the stairs.

* * *

"Almost got it..."

Gin grunted as she shifted again. She had rolled partially onto her side, and was trying to lean onto Midnight's Pokéball so she could release the Sneasel. A few seconds later, she managed to hit the release button against the floor, and she grinned as Midnight materialized next to her.

"Hey, Midnight. Could you cut these ropes for us?"

"Snea!"

Nodding, Midnight quickly jumped forward and slashed through Gin's ropes with her claws. She then jumped over to Suishou and cut through his ropes as well. Gin and Suishou rubbed their wrists and ankles as the ropes fell away, sitting up awkwardly.

"Great, thanks, Midnight."

"Sel!"

Gin quickly looked around the room as she rose to her knees. A large generator took up most of the room, and six Elecrodes were sitting around the perimeter of the room. They were probably close enough to hit the generator if they exploded, but there wasn't much room for her and Suishou to move around either...

"Okay, kiddo, are you ready?"

"I think so," Suishou replied slowly.

"All right. On the count of three, all of us stand up and get the Electrodes' attention, got it?"

"Got it..."

"Snea!"

"One... two... three!"

Gin and Suishou quicklyrose to their feet, and Midnight jumped around them noisily. The Electrode closest to the trio instantly started to glow, and the other five followed its example. Seconds later, an explosion of energy blasted from each of the Electric-Types, and Gin threw Suishou and Midnight to the floor.

"_Now duck_!"

* * *

"Is this it?"

Kin blinked as he and Lance arrived downstairs in a small, single room. A computer was sitting on a desk in the middle of the room, and the screen was glowing, indicating that it was on. A small text box was in the middle of the screen, requesting an ID input.

"Yes, it should be..."

Lance stepped forward, pulling the card he'd taken from the female grunt out of his pocket. He glanced at it quickly before typing in the girl's number, R1337. After a moment, a blank text box appeared on the screen.

"_Request passwords_?" A mechanical voice beeped. "_Please type yes or no._"

Quickly typing in "yes," Lance held his breath as the computer made whirring noises. Kin looked over Lance's shoulder as the two passwords appeared on the screen.

"What kind of passwords are 'Raticate Tail' and 'Hail Giovanni'?"

"Well, Giovanni's their ex-leader, from when Team Rocket was big in Kanto... And maybe Raticate Tail is a parody of something?"

Lance seemed to be talking mainly to himself as he turned back to the staircase. Blinking, Kin scrambled after him, deciding not to inquire further. Of course he didn't know anything about Team Rocket being in Kanto, but he already felt stupid enough for asking about Giovanni...

As they arrived upstairs, a loud explosion suddenly sounded from a few yards away. Lance and Kin gave each other a surprised look, and hurried around a couple of turns in the hallway. Soon they arrived in front of a metallic door that they'd passed on the way down that had a code input pad next to it. It now looked dented slightly, as if something had punched through the back of it.

"Well... Do you think this is the generator room?"

"It must be. I can't remember seeing any other coded doors like this one..." Lance frowned.

"But then why was there that explosion from here just now?" Kin demanded.

"I don't know, but it looks like we're going to have to find out."

Lance quickly typed the two passwords into the keypad, and the door slowly slid open. A large generator was sitting in the middle of the room, but it was buzzing and sparking slightly. Six fainted Electrodes were lying around the room; apparently, they'd just used explosion. In front of the generator, Gin, Suishou, and Midnight were lying face down. Kin and Lance gasped simultaneously as they saw the singe marks on the three of them.

Seconds later, however, Gin easily stood up, and burst into laughter as she saw Lance and Kin. "Hey, guys. What's with the looks on your faces? You look like you just saw someone die or something."

"Sel!" Midnight grinned as well as she stood up.

"Y-Yeah... We're mostly okay..." Suishou added as he wobbled to his feet.

"I... I... That's not funny!" Kin shouted.

"Yes it is. Especially if it's you that we freaked out."

"Anyway," Lance hastily cut in, seeing the glare on Kin's face. "How... What exactly happened?"

"Well, I managed to release Midnight, and she cut us free. Then we got the Electrodes to explode, and they caused some pretty good damage to the generator," Gin started. "But hey, I'll explain more later. We've gotta hurry out of here before those two guards get back here."

"You're right," Lance agreed. "Let's get out of here as quickly as we can."

The five of them carefully peered out of the door, and then hurried out of the room in relief.


	35. Chapter Thirty Four: Vs Seel!

_Author's Note_: Yay, it's time for Pryce and stuff. Least favorite gym ever due to the ice, but at least Pryce is not as annoying as, say... Whitney.

**Chapter Thirty Four: Vs Seel!**

"So, what exactly happened again?"

"Pretty much what I said. They threw us in the generator room, and we got the Electrodes to explode to bust the generator. That's it, really."

After managing to get out of the Rocket Base, Gin, Lance, Kin, and Suishou had ducked into a small alcove of trees not too far from the building. Gin rolled her eyes as she explained the story to Lance again, and the red-haired man sighed.

"But what if that hadn't worked?" he asked.

"I dunno. I guess I could've gotten Magnesia to short-circuit the machine. Maybe."

"Come on! That's hit-and-miss and you know it," Kin interjected. "Besides! What if the Electrodes had exploded on you instead of the machine?"

"That's what if, and besides, my idea worked."

"Well," Lance cut in, obviously in an attempt to stave off the argument. "I suppose it's a good thing that it did work. And I must thank you all for helping me investigate the area."

"No big deal. We probably would've ended up finding their base anyway. And we only really needed your help because Kin was an idiot in the first place."

"Not true!"

"Um, guys..." Suishou spoke up timidly.

Lance added wearily, "Yes, please cut the argument. You all need some rest, especially Gin and Suishou. I must be going myself... Thank you again."

Pulling a Pokéball off of his belt, Lance released his Dragonite. The large Dragon-Type leaned forward slightly so that Lance would get on its back easier, and stood back up when Lance had wrapped his arms around its neck. Lance nodded to the three other trainers, and Dragonite slowly lifted into the air.

"He _is_ right," Gin sighed. "Let's get back to the Pokémon Center."

"Do you have to be so suspicious of everyone?" Kin frowned.

"Just because he has a strong Pokémon doesn't mean we should listen to everything he says," Gin responded testily.

"H-Hey!"

Suishou smiled slightly as he followed after Gin and Kin. He'd gotten used to their squabbles enough that they were becoming a familiar relief...

* * *

"Hey, is it true that Team Rocket's not at the Lake of Rage anymore?"

"I heard someone caught the red Gyarados that was up there!"

"There was a red Gyarados?"

"Do you think Pryce will re-open the gym tomorrow?"

Gin frowned as she, Kin, and Suishou set their sleeping bags down in the back of the Pokémon Center's common room. It was crowded with trainers, and apparently all of them had heard stories about the lake already. At least nobody was mentioning any names...

Suddenly, however, she felt a tap on her leg, and sighed as she looked down at Suishou. The redhead had already crawled into his sleeping bag, and was blinking sleepily at her.

"Gin? Are we going to the gym tomorrow, too?"

"Yeah. Bright and early, too, so get some sleep, kiddo."

"O-okay."

Stifling a yawn, Suishou rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes. Rolling her own eyes, Gin looked over at Kin and shot him a glare. Kin blinked and folded his arms over his chest.

"Hey, I'm not tired."

"I don't care. If you sleep late tomorrow morning, I'm leaving you here."

With that, Gin climbed into her sleeping bag as well and forced herself to close her eyes. After a few moments, she heard Kin mumbling under his breath, and a few seconds later he slid into his sleeping bag. Gin smirked slightly as she drifted off, deciding to wake up purposely early to confuse Kin.

* * *

The next morning, Kin sat up slowly, stretching and leaving his eyes closed. He yawned as he opened his eyes, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the dim light. Evidently, it was still fairly early, and Kin smirked proudly.

_Not even Gin could complain that this is too late... Huh?_

Kin frantically looked around, realizing that Gin and Suishou were both gone; even their sleeping bags had been put away. As Kin scrambled up, a light chuckle floated through the room.

"Don't panic too much. You might wake everyone else up."

Gin was leaning against the common room's door frame, looking pleased with herself. Kin glared as he stormed over to her.

"That's not funny!"

"Didn't you say that yesterday too?" Gin shrugged. "Oh well. But it _was_ funny."

"Whatever! Hey, I'm hungry..."

"Too bad. Suishou and I ate breakfast already, and he's waiting for us out in the lobby. Let's go."

"Hey!"

Kin's protests fell on deaf ears as he darted after Gin...

* * *

"_This_ is the gym?"

Fortunately, in a town as small as Mahogany, the gym was pretty easy to find... When they arrived in front of the building, though, Gin felt her eye twitch.

The gym was barely larger than the rest of the town's buildings, and it was also wooden. However, there were only a few, high windows, and the gym radiated a chilled temperature. Sighing, Gin quickly reached for the door handle.

"Come on."

The door creaked open, and Gin stepped inside. She instantly stepped back, however, and raised a hand to her eyes. Light was glaring off of the ice-covered floor as well as the icicles that were hanging from the ceiling.

"What?" Kin demanded. "It can't be that bad."

He pushed around Gin, instantly blinking as he tried to get used to the light. Suishou peered curiously around Gin and Kin's shoulders, apparently not as affected by the glare as they were.

"Uh... I think there's someone back there..."

Squinting, Gin realized Suishou was right. A small door had just opened in the back of the room, and an elderly man with a cane slowly walked into the room. As he closed the door behind him, he looked up and noticed the trio.

"Good morning," he called. "Challengers this early?"

"Just me," Gin replied. "The name's Gin."

"Ah, it's my pleasure. I'm Pryce," he answered. "Is a three-on-three all right with you?"

"Of course."

Gin walked forward again slowly, trying not to trip as she and Pryce approached the middle of the room. Rolling his eyes, Kin tried to dart forward.

"See, you don't have to go so slow..."

He'd barely taken three steps before slipping and falling. Suishou tried to help him up, but Kin glared and slapped his hand away, evidently preferring to remain in the sitting position he'd landed in. Gin snorted, but Pryce looked apologetic.

"I'm sorry, but the flooring is beneficial for my Pokémon. You probably should've stayed there..."

"Now he tells me," Kin grumbled.

"Anyway, I shall begin with Seel."

Pryce took a Pokéball from his belt and released the small Water-Type. Grinning, Gin reached for Magnesia's Pokéball, and instantly released the Magneton.

"Magnesia will be perfect, then. Use Thunderbolt!"

"Hm... Seel, use Headbutt."

Sparks began to form between Magnesia's magnets, and the attack launched towards Seel. However, Seel didn't seem to look nervous at all; instead, it lowered its head and quickly slid forward across the floor. It managed to slide around the Thunderbolt, and abruptly raised its head up so it struck Magnesia. The surprised Magneton tumbled backwards through the air, but regained its balance easily.

Gin sighed. "Try Thunderbolt again."

Once more, electricity built up between Magnesia's magnets. The Thunderbolt launched quickly towards Seel, and this time it didn't get a chance to slide out of the way. Seel was hit dead-on, and it flopped forward weakly. It didn't look quite like it was fainted yet, though.

"Swift should be able to finish it..."

"Seel, use Water Gun."

Magnesia tilted forward, and a series of small stars shot out of its top screw. At the same time, Seel managed to lift its head enough to launch a Water Gun at the Electric-Type. Both Pokémon tried to dodge, but both were hit. Magnesia twirled backwards but barely regained its balance again, and Seel finally laid its head down on the floor in defeat.

"Hm, you're not bad," Pryce commented as he withdrew Seel. "But... You might have trouble with Piloswine."

When Pryce took out another Pokéball, a large, brown, hairy Pokémon materialized next to him. It shook its tusks threateningly, and Gin rolled her eyes. How could it even see with so much fur covering its face?

"Whatever. Magnesia, use Swift again, okay?"

"Mud Shot, Piloswine."

Before Magnesia had time to launch another Swift, Piloswine slowly exhaled the Mud Shot. The attack hit Magnesia directly, and since it was already weakened, it instantly collapsed to the floor. Gin blinked, trying to ignore Kin's snickering.

"Oh well... You were all right, Magnesia... Hm." Gin paused as she recalled Magnesia, and then decided to go for another type advantage. "I'll use Gemma."

The Cloyster appeared next to Gin when she released him, and he was wearing his traditional smirk. Frowning slightly, Gin shrugged and figured she could stay on the offensive, at least.

"A Surf would be nice, Gemma."

"Piloswine, counter with Icy Wind."

Gemma closed his shell, and then suddenly reopened it as water gushed out of his mouth. The water formed a huge wave that crashed forward towards Piloswine. It tried to blow the icy attack at the water, but instead of freezing the Surf, Piloswine's attack was overpowered. The wave washed over Piloswine, and when the water receded, a shivering Piloswine was trying to shake itself dry with little success.

"I bet a Water Pulse would be enough now..."

Grinning and nodding, Gemma shot a small, circular wave of water at Piloswine. Since it wasn't paying attention, the Water Pulse hit easily, and Piloswine tumbled over in surprise, However, it wasn't able to get back up, and Pryce was starting to look impressed as he recalled the fainted Pokémon.

"Well, Gin, you are doing far better than I expected. My last Pokémon is my Dewgong."

The large sea lion Pokémon slid over the ice as it was released, just like Seel had. It clapped its front two fins together, looking more than ready to start battling.

"Dewgong, use Water Pulse as well."

"Quick, Withdraw, Gemma!"

Dewgong clapped its fins again as it shot the Water Pulse from its mouth. Gemma tried to close his shell, but he was a second too late. Dewgong's attack still hit him square in the face, and he fell to the floor and winced. He obviously wasn't going to faint yet, but he was clearly weak as well. Gin scowled, but then smirked as an idea came to her.

"Gemma, use Explosion."

The Cloyster hesitated, but then closed his eyes as a bright blue aura surrounded him. The energy blast was then released, and as it hit Dewging, both Pokémon collapsed from the force of the attack.

"What? You just made your own Pokémon faint!" Kin cried.

"But, uh... Doesn't she technically have one left?" Suishou asked curiously.

"Ah, yes, you're correct."

Pryce nodded as he and Gin withdrew their Pokémon. Gin put a hand on her hip and smirked as she turned around to Kin, and he wilted.

"See?" Gin said condescendingly. "You have to know when you're about to get knocked out, and what to do to make sure you can still get your opponent out too. That's why _you_ have so much trouble with gym battles."

"Hey!"

"Now, now," Pryce chuckled. Taking a few careful steps towards Gin, he reached into his pocket for a small, octagon-shaped blue badge. "Here, Gin; it's a Glacier Badge."

"Awesome..."

Gin clipped the badge to the inside of her jacket along with her six others, and her proud look grew even stronger. Suishou smiled, but Kin grumbled under his breath.

"Fun battle, by the way," Gin called as she turned around. Giving a quick wave over her shoulder, she added, "See ya, Pryce."

"Good-bye, Gin."

Grinning, Gin quickly opened the gym's door and ignored Kin's continued grumbling, at least trying to fell better about going outside into a slightly warmer temperature.


	36. Chapter Thirty Five: Vs Dewgong!

_Author's Note_: So, it's almost back to Goldenrod for TR stuff. I'm changing things a bit, though...

**Chapter Thirty Four: Vs Dewgong!**

Gin sighed as she opened the Pokémon Center's door. She, Kin, and Suishou had just arrived at the Center after leaving the gym, and Kin was _still_ grumbling.

"I can't believe it... Cheap tactics if I ever saw any..."

"Shut up." Gin rolled her eyes. "That wasn't cheap; it's called _thinking ahead_."

"But...!"

Gin tuned Kin out as she walked up to the Center's counter with Suishou trailing behind her. She forced a smile as she handed her Pokémon to the attendant, and then turned back to Suishou.

"Hey, kiddo, you want to go get lunch or something?"

"Sure!" Suishou grinned.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

Kin scrambled after Gin and Suishou, trying to shake off the feeling that he was being insulted although Gin wasn't saying anything to him anymore...

* * *

"So I did a bit of poking around, and the next gym's over in Blackthorne City."

Gin slid back into the chair she'd been sitting in a few moments ago. Suishou and Kin looked up as they finished off the sandwiches they'd gotten for lunch, and the redhead blinked.

"Um, that's pretty close to here, right?"

"Well, basically."

"Basically?" Kin's eye twitched as he replied.

"That's what I said, genius. Anyway, I got a better look at the map they have up in the lobby, and there's this tunnel called Ice Cave between here and there. I heard it takes about a day to get through it unless you feel like rushing, and judging from its rather uncreative title, rushing through a place like Ice Cave does not sound very smart."

"What do you recommend we do then?" Kin asked sarcastically.

Gin shrugged and took a sip of her remaining water. "I'd say wait here and get up early again tomorrow morning."

"And what are we supposed to do between now and this evening? There's nothing here."

"We could always go to bed after dinner," Suishou suggested.

"Yeah, that and maybe practice battle a bit, or something. I can think of _someone_ who could use it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Gin rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to throw her water bottle at Kin as she stood up to throw it away. She'd rather save her energy for more important things, after all.

* * *

"Ugh. I _hate_ waking up this early."

Kin rubbed his eyes as he followed Gin and Suishou out of the cafeteria the next morning. They had indeed gone to bed right after dinner, but the dark-haired boy never woke up before seven... And Gin being wide awake already just made things worse.

"I don't care. If we're going to get to Blackthorne any time today, we need to leave in a few minutes," she responded irritably.

"Um... Gin..." Suishou started to speak, but was cut off when he yawned.

Gin simply rolled her eyes at the two boys as they walked out into the lobby. Turning around, she blinked owlishly; there was a large group of trainers gathered around the counter. As she took a few steps closer, she could hear them murmuring excitedly.

Suishou blinked. "What's everyone doing?"

Shrugging, Gin pushed passed a few of the trainers rather ungraciously with the two boys right behind her, and they got a few glares and grumbles in return. Gin blinked as well when she got to the counter; Mahogany's gym leader, Pryce, had evidently just laid his Dewgong on the counter and was indicating a large scar on its side to the nurse.

"Fortunately, I don't think it's too deep, but I was wondering if there was anything you can do for that..."

"I'd say just let Dewgong rest up for a few days, and it should be back to normal just like that!" the nurse answered, smiling.

"Ah... Good, thank you." Pryce smiled as well as he withdrew the Ice-Type, and as he turned around, he noticed Gin. "Oh, good morning, Gin."

"Yo, Pryce."

The rest of the trainers curiously looked at each other and started babbling instantly. Gin rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

"I'm sure you didn't come here to listen to chatter, right?" Gin frowned as she and Pryce started walking towards the door.

The Gym Leader chuckled slightly. "I'm sure you saw my Dewgong. I wasn't too worried... But you can never be too careful."

"I hear you on that..."

"Hey!"

Kin yelped as he and Suishou hurried after Gin and Pryce. When the quartet opened the Center's glass door and walked out, Pryce suddenly had a more serious look on his face.

"Actually, I'm glad I ran into you three," he started, beckoning them to come a bit closer.

"Why?" Gin raised an eyebrow. "Did you forget something yesterday?"

"No, it's not that... I just got a rather cut off call from Whitney just a few minutes ago. It sounded urgent, but I suppose her Pokégear must have run out of batteries before she could finish speaking..."

"Whitney? Oh, she's the Gym Leader in Goldenrod," Kin grinned. "She's _cute_."

"No, she's not. She's irritating," Gin snapped. "Anyway, is there something wrong?"

"Evidently, there's some kind of trouble in Goldenrod, but I didn't get to hear what it was. She said I was the first of the Gym Leaders she didn't get a busy signal with. I'm curious, but I don't want to leave town with Dewgong injured either..."

"So, um, we should help, right?" Suishou asked brightly.

"Yes, that would be a big relief," Pryce said gratefully. "Please, have Whitney call me when things are cleared up."

With that, the Gym Leader leaned on his cane slightly and slowly started to walk away from the Pokémon Center. As soon as he was out of sight, Gin turned around and glared at Kin and Suishou.

"We're not going. I can't risk being seen in Goldenrod! I'm a _missing person_, you know!"

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" Kin demanded.

"Oh... That's right..." Suishou sighed and looked down. "You told me a long time ago, right? You ran away. But we went to Goldenrod that one time when you got your badge..."

"You ran away from home? Are you crazy?"

"You would too if you had grandparents like mine. And it was sheer dumb luck that I only ran into my stupid brother the last time I was there!"

"But Gin..." Suishou started. "What if something really serious is happening? We really should go... We could just be really careful..."

Gin paused, looking at Kin's dumbfounded look and Suishou's hopeful expression. She then pinched the bridge of her nose and breathed out slowly.

"All right, I suppose. But I swear, if anything goes wrong..."

"I know, it's my fault," Kin grumbled.

"Actually, I wasn't going to say that, but hey, that works too."

Gin smirked as Kin started sputtering, and she folded her hands behind her head as she started walking. True, her stomach was tightening at the thought of going back to Goldenrod, but at least this time she'd have some comic relief.


	37. Chapter Thirty Six: Vs Clefairy II!

_Author's Notes_: Yeah, so here's Goldenrod… Whitney's as obnoxious as ever, ha.

**Chapter Thirty Six: Vs Clefairy II!**

"Ugh. I forgot how far Goldenrod is from Mahogany…"

Kin grumbled to himself as he, Gin, and Suishou pushed through some undergrowth on the outskirts of Ecruteak City. It had taken them a few hours to get from Mahogany to there, and they'd promptly turned south to Goldenrod City without so much as a stop at Ecruteak's Pokémon Center. To be quite honest, Kin's feet were starting to hurt, but there was no way he was going to complain about that too with the way Gin was glaring at him.

"You're one of the ones who wanted to come, so stuff it. Besides, there's a shortcut that goes around the National Park which should save us a few minutes," she snapped.

"Yeah, we took that before, right?" Suishou asked brightly.

"Why am I the only one who didn't know that?"

"Because you're an idiot. Now hurry up."

Kin sighed, reluctantly speeding up in an attempt to keep up with Gin.

* * *

"What is with this place? Shouldn't there be more people hanging out here?"

The trio had arrived on the outskirts of Goldenrod a few hours later, but they could already tell that something was wrong. Despite the fact that they were technically outside of city limits, there weren't very many trainers or tourists scurrying around. Gin rolled her eyes as Kin asked the question.

"Usually, yes. However, I'm willing to bet that this thing that Whitney complained about is simply some kind of exorbitant price raise at the Department Store, and so everyone's shopping back in Ecruteak or something."

"I… I hope so," Suishou said nervously.

Gin shrugged and started walking again. Kin and Suishou followed her rather tensely, and Gin actually didn't blame them for being nervous. The farther they walked, the weirder things got; all of the apartments and other buildings they passed were dark, despite the fact that it was mid-day.

After following a few turns in the sidewalk, they arrived in front of the gym, and Gin reluctantly knocked on the door. After several moments, there was no answer, and Gin impatiently knocked again.

"Where is she?"

"Gin, look… the lights are out here, too," Suishou gulped.

Taking a step back, Gin looked more closely at the gym and saw that Suishou was right. Sighing, she reached out and tried the door handle, and after jiggling it for a few seconds, she realized it was locked.

"Well, this is just ridiculous," she announced. "We come here to see what's up with Whitney and she doesn't even answer…"

"Well, we're here already, so let's find her," Kin grinned.

"You just want to talk to her… Never mind."

Frowning, Gin stepped away from the gym and started walking away. As she did, she folded her arms and looked around furtively; there wasn't even anyone outside, but she couldn't be too careful.

"Could you not look around all suspiciously? It's making things even creepier," Kin complained.

"Oh, stow it! Hey… Wait a second…"

"Are you even paying attention to me?"

Gin snorted; Kin should've been able to tell she couldn't care less at the moment. The three of them had just walked past the Radio Tower, and it was the only building they'd seen so far that had lit-up windows. Picking up her pace a bit, she beckoned to Kin and Suishou.

"Come on, guys, I think I'm on to something."

When they arrived at the Radio Tower, its metal door was swinging loosely off its hinges, and the bit of the inside that they could see was a mess; a potted plant was knocked over, as were a few stools and visitor's benches. Gin heard Suishou gasp audibly as they walked inside, and she narrowed her eyes as she looked around the familiar lobby. A few windows were broken, nobody was behind the front desk, and the carpet was torn in several places. As much as Gin had used to visit the Radio Tower, it now looked unfamiliar to her.

There was one other thing that was out of place that Gin noticed… In front of the stairs leading to the second floor, a small Clefairy was nervously hopping around a wiggling sack. Frowning, Gin jogged over to it, and Clefairy looked hopeful as the gray-haired girl untied the rope around the top of the bag.

"Wh-What is it, Gin?" Suishou questioned, kneeling down beside her.

Gin grunted as she pulled the edges of the sack down, and a blur of pink crawled out of it. A battered Whitney sat in front of her a few seconds later, sniffling as she curled her legs up in front of her.

"M-Mr. Gin?" Whitney blinked. "Did Pryce tell you to come?"

Ignoring Kin's snickering, Gin rolled her eyes and answered Whitney. "Yeah. Look, what the heck is up with this place, anyway?"

"Um… Like, these really weird guys in black came here… They were threatening the people here and stuff… Nobody's come out of their houses since then and when I came here they tied me up."

"Listen, this is important. Did they have big red R's on their uniforms?" Gin continued.

"Yeah, I think so. You're not gonna go after them, are you?"

"We are, duh. You want them to take over this place?"

"Well, um… I don't even really know who they are. And they locked themselves in, too. There's sliding door thing on the third floor, but I have a key to it."

"Do you still have it?" Suishou asked hopefully.

"Yep!" Whitney grinned. "Clefairy managed to take it before they got me. Right, Clefairy?"

"Clef!"

Clefairy darted over to one of the rips in the carpet, and after fiddling with it for a few seconds, pulled a card key out from under it. The Normal-Type then hurried back over to Whitney and handed the card key to her. Whitney looked up at Gin as she handed her the key.

"Uh, Mr. Gin, are you, like, really sure about this?"

"Yes, I am. Now go back to the gym and go play with your makeup or something, okay?"

"Okay!"

Seemingly oblivious to the seriousness of the situation, Whitney managed to stagger to her feet and cheerfully waved as she and Clefairy headed to the front door of the Tower. Sighing, Gin slid the key into her pocket and turned toward the stairs.

"Well, it looks like we get to knock around Team Rocket a bit. But what could they want here…"

"_Mr. Gin_?" Kin chuckled.

"Let me remind you that you were under the same impression until about a week or two ago. Now come along, kiddo, we've got to hurry up if we want to get those Rockets out of here any time soon."

"Okay!"

"Huh? W-Wait!"

Once again, Kin found himself scrambling after Gin and feeling ignored, despite the fact that he knew they had something important to do.


	38. Chapter Thirty Seven: Vs Houndoom!

_Author's Notes_: And here's the stuff with Team Rocket. Umbra gets to be awesome… And Gin gets her head handed to her.

**Chapter Thirty Seven: Vs Houndoom!**

Gin sighed heavily as she, Suishou, and Kin climbed the staircase to the second floor of the Radio Tower. Their footsteps echoed ominously on the stairs, and none of them had said a word since encountering Whitney. When they arrived on the landing, however, they saw several men in black uniforms near the back of the room. Fortunately, they hadn't spotted the trio yet, and Gin beckoned to the two boys.

"Okay, we need a plan," she hissed. "You guys can distract the grunts at the stairs while I go up."

"Why do Suishou and I have to stay here?" Kin protested.

"Well, for one thing, you're stupid, so if there's anything dangerous on the upper floors you'd probably start babbling that we're all here. And for another thing, I just don't want the kid to get hurt."

"Um, G-Gin?" Suishou mumbled, blushing slightly.

"It can wait. Let's go!"

With that, Gin darted forward, purposely making sure that the thick soles of her shoes smacked loudly onto the floor. Kin and Suishou blinked at each other before scrambling after her. As they got closer to the Team Rocket grunts, the men looked up suspiciously, and their hands instinctively dropped to their belts for their Pokéballs.

"What do you children think you're doing here?" one of them glared.

"Oh?" Gin smirked as she slowed down. "I don't see any children. And let's just say we got a tip-off that you guys were here."

"And whatever it is you're doing here… I'm taking you down!" Kin smirked.

"Kin! You don't know what you're talking about!" Gin whispered. "Besides, you're not doing this alone!"

"Y-yeah, I can help," Suishou stammered.

"You think you can take us down, huh? We'll teach you a lesson!"

Each of the grunts simultaneously took a single Pokéball off of his belt, and each of them released a Koffing. The purple Poison-Types grinned cheerfully as they hovered in front of their trainers.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Gin's head, and her smirk widened. "Hey, how about you just tell your Koffings to use Smokescreen?"

"What?" Kin, Suishou, and all the grunts gasped in unison.

"Are you out of your mind?" Kin grunted indignantly.

"No, I know what I'm doing. Trust me."

"Okay, we'll do it. Just don't say we didn't warn you!" As one of the grunts grinned confidently at the trio, the rest of them called, "Smokescreen!"

Green-gray smoke poured out of the Koffings' pores, and with all of them releasing the Smokescreen at once, it was nearly impossible to see what was going on. As the grunts shouted and Kin and Suishou tried to fan the smoke from their face, quiet footsteps sounded. The Smokescreen cleared a few moments later, and when it did, Gin was no where to be found.

"Where'd that gray-haired brat go?" one of the grunts howled.

"He had to have gone upstairs!" another grumbled.

As the grunts turned towards the stairs, Kin frowned. "For some reason, I have no desire to correct him."

"Yeah, but… We need to stop them, right?"

Kin and Suishou nodded to each other and reached for Pokéballs of their own. Suishou released Geo, and Kin released Needle.

"Needle, use Thunder Wave!"

The Jolteon's fur bristled, and small sparks shot out of his needle-like hair. Each of the Rockets was hit by the attack, and they fell to the ground in surprise as their limbs numbed. Suishou then nodded to Geo, and the Graveller flexed its four arms.

"Geo, use Rock Tomb!"

Geo securely tossed several large boulders around the group, making sure that they wouldn't be able to escape if the paralysis wore off. Kin slapped Suishou on the back, and the redhead stumbled slightly.

"Hey, Suishou, that was pretty clever. I bet we could show Gin a thing or two if she was still here!"

"R-Really?" Suishou blinked, smiling. "Well… Oh! Shouldn't we go up too? I mean, just in case…"

"I guess. Come on!"

Suishou immediately followed Kin over to the stairs, and as they went up, he sincerely hoped that Gin was okay…

* * *

Gin finally pounded up to the fifth and final floor of the Radio Tower. Apart from the grunts on the second floor, there really hadn't been too many Rockets around the tower. Fortunately, she'd managed to sneak around DJ desks to avoid being seen. She realized, however, that the top floor would be the riskiest… But she wanted to get this little escapade over as soon as possible.

When she came out on the fifth floor landing, there was one Rocket at the large recording panel in the back, and he was adjusting a few sliders. He then reached for the microphone next to him and cleared his throat. Gin frowned, realizing his uniform was slightly different from the other Rockets'… He had to be a higher rank than the rest.

"Hey, you. What do you think you're doing?" she droned.

"Wh-What?" The executive spun around, glaring. "How did a civilian get in here? I had guards!"

"Well, they weren't very good guards, were they? Now answer my question."

"All right, I suppose it couldn't hurt… I can just silence you in a few minutes anyway. Now then, I suppose than even a brat like you has heard of the Team Rocket debacle in Kanto, haven't you?"

"Yeah, it was about three years ago," Gin yawned. "I wasn't paying that much attention to it at the time, but it was all over the news… Even here in Johto. You guys are really idiotic, aren't you?"

"Hmph. Well, that's why we're here in Johto now. We're hoping that by taking over the Radio Tower, we can broadcast messages to our former leader to show him our progress and make him come out of hiding."

"Not if I have anything to do about it."

"Cheeky, aren't you? But you can't stand up to Houndoom."

The Rocket executive released a particularly large Houndoom, and it snarled at her as its forked tail twitched. Gin simply shrugged, reaching for a Pokéball of her own.

"Whatever. It can't attack me if I attack it. Come on, Umbra!"

The Eevee materialized next to Gin, glaring up at Houndoom. Her fur bristled as she tried to look threatening.

"You think that little fur ball can take out Houndoom? Ha. Houndoom, go get yourself a new chew toy while I make sure this thing is working properly."

He turned back to the microphone, and Houndoom leered down at Umbra. Her glare intensified, and she impatiently looked back at Gin, waiting for orders. The gray-haired girl smirked, looking out towards the small windows in the room—by now, a few rays of dim evening light were sifting into the room. If she could make this work…

"Okay, Umbra, go teach Houndoom a lesson. I know you can," she said confidently. "I'm _trusting_ this one to you, okay?"

Umbra blinked, looking surprised, but then she grinned and nodded. She closed her eyes and started to glow, and a few moments later, she stood several feet taller. Her fur was jet black, and golden rings ran around her body.

"Umbreon…" she hissed.

She then darted forward, crashing into Houndoom for a Faint Attack. However, the larger Pokémon looked unfazed, and it easily clamped its jaws around the newly evolved Umbra. It then picked her up and threw her backwards, causing her to crash into a shelf.

"No, Umbra, get up! You can do it…" Gin whispered quickly.

"That runt won't help you. Just admit it, you've lost and nobody's here to help you."

Gin clenched her teeth as she whirled around to face the executive. However, suddenly, something collided with her head, and her vision went black as she slid to the floor.


	39. Chapter Thirty Eight: Vs Houndoom II!

_Author's Note_: And now for the conclusion of the Radio Tower… Except there is no Clear Bell. And Kin and Suishou get to be cool again.

**Chapter Thirty Eight: Vs Houndoom II!**

"There aren't any more grunts up here," Kin announced, grinning.

After passing two nearly-empty floors in the Radio Tower, Kin and Suishou were approaching the staircase to the fifth floor. There had only been a few Rocket Grunts on the third floor, and the two boys had managed to sneak past them all. Kin seemed relieved by the lack of grunts, but Suishou was getting a bit nervous.

"Um, what if they're all upstairs?"

"I doubt it, and besides, knowing Gin she'll gloat about how she beat them all already when we get up there."

"Oh… All right…"

Fortunately, the pair managed to climb the stairs quickly, but Kin stopped suddenly when they were getting close to the top. Suishou had to stop suddenly as well to avoid hitting Kin, and he blinked.

"I-Is everything okay, Kin?"

Kin frowned, tilting his head to the side slightly. "Does something smell funny to you?"

Suishou's eyes widened. "It's kind of like… fire…"

* * *

"Ugh…"

Gin slowly opened her eyes as she felt a light nudging on her shoulder. Umbra had evidently been thrown next to her, and the Umbreon was poking her trainer with her nose in an attempt to wake her up. Grunting, Gin tried to sit up, but felt something cutting into her wrists and ankles.

"Umbra? What's going on here?" Gin frowned.

"Breon…" Umbra growled weakly, looking at Gin's wrists.

The gray-haired girl's scowl deepened as she realized she'd been tied up… again. Fortunately, she was still in the Radio Tower, so at least Kin and Suishou couldn't be too far away… However, the Rocket executive she'd encountered earlier was still sitting at the desk on the other side of the room, and his Houndoom was curled up behind him, glaring at Gin and Umbra.

Gin glared right back, and Houndoom whined slightly. Its trainer didn't seem to notice, however… He was currently speaking into the microphone on the table.

"Attention! Attention, Johto! This is a message from Team Rocket's resurrected following. I hope our leader is listening! All we're asking for is your cooperation, Johto, in finding the esteemed Giovanni once again. With a fully revived Team Rocket under his leadership, we will be able to lead you all into slightly restricted but far more peaceful times…"

Gin growled, managing to raise her voice. "Hey, freak! That was a really lame lie just now. If you claim you want peace, then why do you have me all tied up?"

"Wh-What?"

The executive whirled around, obviously not having expected Gin to regain consciousness. He quickly leaned down to whisper something to Houndoom, and then sat back up.

"Please, Johto! What you have just heard is a dangerous rebel fighting against our cause. We have restrained this individual to reduce threats to you…"

Gin would have given a sarcastic remark, but refrained for two reasons. One, she'd realized that she'd just cast her voice over the national radio, and if her grandparents were listening, then they'd know where she was. And two, there was a rather large fireball heading towards her and Umbra.

"H-Hydro Pump!"

At that moment, twin blasts of water collided with Houndoom's Flamethrower, and then hit the Pokémon as well. Houndoom howled as the attacks pushed it backwards slightly, and Gin sighed as the executive gasped suddenly.

Kin and Suishou had evidently just arrived at the fifth floor landing, and Suishou somehow looked nervous and pleased at the same time. His Omastar and Feraligatr were standing in front of the pair, standing in fighting poses. Kin's hands was resting on his Pokéballs, but he hadn't released anything yet.

"And I don't think you mentioned the part about having your Houndoom attack her, did you?" Kin said sarcastically, taking a step forward.

"I… That is… Err…"

The Rocket actually looked at a loss for words for a moment. Suishou quickly knelt down while the man paused, smiling slightly as he untied Gin. She stood up as well, sending the executive a rather annoyed look.

"Which means no, I assume? Look, it's kind of pathetic that you have to tie up anyone who gets in your way, especially since, if you think about it, we're all just teenagers anyway."

"Ugh… Houndoom! Use—"

Before the sentence could even be finished, Toto launched another Hydro Pump from his mouth. Houndoom tumbled backwards, its forked tail twitching weakly as it collapsed.

"See?" Kin rolled his eyes. "And you keep attacking us with your Pokémon, too."

"So if your so-called leader is actually listening, then I highly doubt he will actually come back," Gin continued. "You have to stoop this low just to deal with a bunch of kids…"

"Um… Is this recording?" Suishou blinked suddenly.

There was a brief silence before the Rocket executive gave a frustrated yell. He tried to reach for the microphone to turn it off, but before he could, Gin nodded down to Umbra. The Dark-Type managed to get up, and she rammed into his hand with a Quick Attack.

"I'm sure that once the regular Radio Tower staff is back, they will enjoy broadcasting this as much as they possibly can. So if I were you, I'd just admit that you guys are still a bunch of pitiful losers. I can see why this Giovanni guy left you all now," Gin smirked.

"I… Giovanni… Forgive me…" the executive choked.

With that, he knelt down next to his Houndoom, and the dog Pokémon lifted its head and weakly narrowed its eyes. The two then vanished, and Gin sighed in relief and turned off the microphone sitting on the desk. She then turned around and looked at Kin and Suishou rather appraisingly.

"Hey. You guys did better than I thought you would."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kin demanded. "We kind of saved your life there!"

"Exactly. Like I said, you did better than I expected."

"Uh, Gin? Do you know what this is?"

As usual, Suishou timidly interrupted their argument. He was currently holding up a small, red stone that was shaped like a sun, and was still standing near the spot where Gin had been tied up. Gin stared at it for a moment before recognizing it.

"Oh yeah, that's a Sun Stone. I've had it in my pocket for a while, and it must have fallen out when that idiot tied me up. I don't really need it, so I kind of forgot about it…"

"What does it do?" the redhead continued curiously.

"It apparently evolves some Pokémon. I think Gloom's one of them, and you have one, right? Anyway, we should get out of here quickly."

"W-Wait!"

The trio turned around as they heard a quiet voice in the back of the room. Behind the desk, an elderly man in a suit had been tied up as well, and he was looking rather worse for the wear. Blinking, Gin stepped forward again.

"Who are you?" she asked suspiciously.

"I… I'm the Tower's director," he explained. "That man tied me up here yesterday…"

Gin reluctantly knelt down and untied the director's ropes, knowing all to well how annoying the situation was. She stepped back carefully as he stood up with a slight wobble.

"I don't know how in the world I should repay you," he went on. "But trust me, I will be sure to re-broadcast that recording."

"Just… don't ask for our names. I really need confidentiality myself at the moment, and I don't want those two to get tied to anything, either," Gin frowned.

"I understand. Again, I sincerely thank you three."

"Right. Okay, guys, let's go."

Gin recalled Umbra as Suishou recalled Toto and Oman. The three of them then turned towards the stairs and quickly headed down. Kin snickered as they approached the bottom of the staircase.

"Was that a hint of concern that I heard in your voice for once?"

Gin paused before answering. "Shut up. I can just as easily roll you down the stairs as I can try to keep people from having to know the name of an idiot like you."

"Hey! I dare you to say that again!"

Suishou giggled slightly as Kin and Gin began to argue again. At least he knew that Gin was all right, and that was really what was important.


	40. Chapter Thirty Nine: Vs Umbreon!

_Author's Notes_: Well, now we finally have all the Team Rocket business out of the way… And Gin's going to be by herself again, but just for a little while. The chapter turned out pretty short, but it actually kind of works like this; the next one will probably be much longer.

**Chapter Thirty Nine: Vs Umbreon!**

Gin sighed as she sank into one of the couches in Goldenrod's Pokémon Center's lobby. She, Kin, and Suishou had just left the Radio Tower, and fortunately the Center had actually been open. The nurse had taken all of their Pokémon away to be healed, but Gin was still a bit upset… Her wrists and ankles were still a bit sore, after all, and she rubbed her wrists as she looked up at the two boys.

"So… After this, we should hurry on out of here," she muttered.

"But I'm tired!" Kin protested. "Can't we stay here tonight? It's already really late anyway, and…"

"Well, _you_ can. I have to leave as soon as possible, remember? I can't let my grandparents figure out where I am."

"I-I'll go with you, Gin," Suishou offered hopefully.

"No way, kiddo. You look like you're about to fall over."

It was mostly true… The redhead had dark circles under his eyes, and he was slouching slightly. However, Suishou shook his head in protest.

"I'm okay… Honestly."

"No, you're not. Go get some sleep. Oh, and if you get the chance, give this back to Professor Elm for me. He'd find it interesting."

Gin pulled the red Gyarados's Pokéball off of her belt. It was really the only Pokémon that she hadn't needed to heal, and she'd never even used it at all. Suishou blinked as he took it, but then seemed to realize what Gin was talking about.

"Yeah… You're right. We don't get to study alternately colored Pokémon too much," he sighed.

"All right, then. You two go on to bed, and I'm just going to stay here until I get my Pokémon back."

"What if you get in trouble again and need us to rescue you?" Kin replied, smirking.

"That was a fluke. It won't happen again," Gin snorted. "Now go to sleep before you two fall over or something."

"All right, fine. Whatever."

Kin rolled his eyes slightly as he and Suishou turned around and started walking towards the common room's entrance. Suishou looked over his shoulder for a brief moment and smiled sadly, but then quickly followed after Kin again.

Gin sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "That kid really knows how to make me feel guilty."

* * *

"Hmph. She could have at least found a nicer way to ditch us."

Kin grumbled under his breath as he and Suishou set up their sleeping bags in the back of the room. The common room was surprisingly almost empty, and there were only a few other trainers there. They were all asleep already, so the only noise besides Kin's mumbling was the occasional snore.

"Oh, hey, Suishou, are you okay?"

Suishou blinked tiredly as Kin looked over at him. He had already crawled into his sleeping bag, and he hadn't said a word since leaving the lobby.

"Um, yeah," he yawned. "I-I just think that it will be weird without Gin around."

Kin sighed. "I guess you're right. I mean, I've gotten kind of used to having her yell at me. Let's just go to sleep already, okay?"

"O-Okay."

Yawning again, Suishou rolled over as Kin slid into his sleeping bag as well. Frowning to himself, Kin closed his eyes and tried not to think about how upset Suishou looked as he drifted off.

* * *

"This feels ironically familiar…"

Gin sighed as she reached Goldenrod's northern gatehouse. She'd just passed one of the Underground entrances as well, and she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Maybe I should get may hair re-cut. It's starting to grow out."

Mumbling to herself, Gin opened the gatehouse's wooden door. The guard was asleep—he nearly always was, actually—and the only sounds aside from his snoring were Midnight and Umbra's light footsteps. The two Pokémon were following her as she walked to the opposite door and opened it. She'd let them out of their Pokéballs after leaving the Pokémon Center, figuring it would be good for the Dark-Types to walk around in the moonlight.

"Snea?"

Midnight raised her head as the three stepped outside again. Gin rolled her eyes as she looked down at the Sneasel.

"I'm not running away from anything this time. I'm just in a hurry."

"Breon," Umbra replied dubiously, looking back towards Goldenrod City.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Gin asked coolly.

Umbra closed her eyes and paused suddenly as a light purple aura formed around her. The Psychic then formed into a faint picture of Kin and Suishou, and Gin snorted. As the picture faded away, she glared down at Umbra.

"I don't miss them at all. I can travel a lot faster by myself, anyway."

"Um," Umbra answered, almost in a sing-song tone.

"I do not miss them. At all."

Gin's scowl deepened as she repeated herself. Reaching for Midnight and Umbra's Pokéballs, she irritably recalled the two Pokémon and clipped their Pokéballs back onto her belt. She then quickened her pace as s slight breeze picked up.

"Really. What a ridiculous notion. Those two saddle me with unnecessary emotions, anyway."

With that, Gin folded her arms across her chest and kept walking.

* * *

"I… hate all-nighters. At least I made good timing."

Early the next morning, Gin arrived in Ecruteak City again, and dark circles had formed under her gray eyes. Reluctantly, she headed for the Pokémon Center, knowing she'd need at least a bit of sleep before heading on to Blackthorne City.

Fortunately, since it was still a bit dark out, there weren't any trainers hanging around the lobby. The nurse also wasn't at the counter, so Gin slipped into the common room virtually unnoticed. Taking one of the provided, raggedy sleeping bags, she curled up in the corner of the nearly empty room. A few other trainers were bunched together, sleeping in the middle of the room.

As Gin closed her eyes and rolled over, she frowned. For a moment, she'd been reminded of Kin and Suishou when she'd looked at the group. Casting the two boys out of her mind, Gin instead tried to focus on the next day's trip as she drifted off.


	41. Chapter Forty: Vs Dragonair!

_Author's Note_: Ah, Ice Cave… Those ice puzzles were quite annoying. I'm doing a little with that, but not too much.

And then there's Clair. She's probably my favorite Johto Gym Leader because she's just cool, and she's pretty fun to fight, too. However, I decided to only give her one of her Dragonairs.

**Chapter Forty: Vs Dragonair!**

"Ugh… It's so late already."

Gin frowned as she sat up the next morning; bright morning light was coming through the Pokémon Center's windows. After she took her Pokégear out of her pocket, Gin checked the device's clock feature, and her scowl deepened. It was already almost nine a.m., so she'd have to hurry on back to Mahogany if she wanted to get through Ice Cave by evening.

Hurriedly, she rolled up her sleeping bag and put it back in the provided box, fortunately only having to step around a few sleeping trainers. Gin just as quickly walked to the cafeteria; the only bonus to waking up so late was that the breakfast line was short. Snagging a pair of toast slices, Gin ate her breakfast as she turned and walked back out to the lobby.

"At least, if I remember correctly, Mahogany's not too far from Ecruteak," she grumbled.

The gray-haired girl hurriedly opened the Center's glass door, and her scowl shrunk as she walked outside. A light breeze had apparently picked up while she was asleep, so the walk would actually be nice. Stretching, Gin pulled her Pokégear out of her pocket once again and selected the map function, picking up her pace after checking Mahogany's location.

* * *

"Hmph. I still can't get over how tiny this place is."

Gin was making fairly good time—it had taken her much shorter to get to Mahogany this time than it had last time. She shook her head as she wove her way around the small, wooden buildings, but paused suddenly as she passed the Pokémon Mart. The outside had been whitewashed, and the glass in the windows had been replaced; additionally, when she looked inside, Gin could see new flooring and people browsing the shelves for items.

"At least I know _something's_ changed around here." Folding her arms, Gin kept walking. "I guess it's good that Team Rocket abandoned the place so quickly."

Soon, she arrived on the east side of town, and the Mahogany's mountainous border narrowed around the dirt path. The route next to the town was just as rocky, but there were a couple of ponds towards the middle of it. However, the thing that stood out the most about Route 44 was the large cave in the distance; mist rose from the entrance and the tops of its mountains were ice-capped.

"Well, _that_ looks fun," Gin mumbled sarcastically.

Resignedly, Gin tried to hurry towards Ice Cave, gingerly avoiding a few of the larger rocks on the path. After a few minutes, she'd arrived at the wide entrance, and she frowned again. She hadn't even stepped all the way inside, and she was already shivering slightly.

Gritting her teeth, Gin eventually ducked through the entrance, having to squint to see. The cave was dim and misty, and large patches of ice were on the floor up ahead. Furthermore, the tunnel she was in currently looked rather winding. She sighed and carefully started walking forward, but then stopped short after several minutes.

Apparently, the next few yards of the cave's floor were completely covered in ice, and to make things worse, there were a couple of turns in the path. After glaring at the floor for a moment, Gin slowly shuffled forward, trying to stay close to the wall; her theory was that if she somehow did slip, at least she'd be able to stand back up easily with the wall as support.

Gin fortunately managed to make it over the ice patch safely, and she rolled her eyes as she stepped off onto normal ground. This would be one long trip if that kept up…

* * *

"Ugh… Never again…"

Gin grumbled to herself as she stepped off another ice patch. It finally looked like she was getting close to the end of Ice Cave—she could see some faint light towards the end of the tunnel—and she was more than glad to be getting out of the cave. There had been several other ice patches scattered throughout the cave, and she had nearly slipped on a couple of them.

She sped up after stepping onto plain ground, trying to reach the end of the cave. Ducking through another wide opening, Gin paused for a moment to catch her breath. When she looked up to check her surroundings, she groaned.

Evidently, Ice Cave came out right on the edge of Blackthorne City. Like Mahogany, Blackthorne was surrounded by mountains and was fairly small. The buildings were also all wooden, but they resembled shrines like Ecruteak's houses did.

Rolling her eyes, Gin decided to stop off at the Pokémon Center before going anywhere else. It was evening already, and she was a bit hungry, not to mention cold; she reluctantly realized that she would have to take a break before looking for the gym. Fortunately, Blackthorne's Pokémon Center had a traditional red roof and was fairly close to the town's entrance, so she got there quickly.

When she entered the building, she was thankful that there weren't too many people there. A few trainers were hanging out in the lobby, but the cafeteria was nearly empty. Gin quickly grabbed a sandwich from one of the serving bars and sat down to eat it, kicking her feet up on the chair beside her.

"I hope I have time to go to the gym tonight," she muttered around a mouthful.

After swallowing the last few bites of her sandwich, Gin stood up and threw the wrapper away. She walked back down the hallway to the lobby, and paused slightly when she reached the Center's front door. One of the trainers she'd seen a few minutes ago was looking curiously at her as she walked over to her.

"Hey, I don't think I've seen you around here before," the pink-haired girl said thoughtfully.

"That's because I just got here."

The girl seemed to miss Gin's sarcasm as she went on. "Oh, I guess you're here for the gym, then?"

"…Yeah."

"Well, it's just north of here. You really can't miss it."

_Then why do you need to tell me if it's that easy to find?_

"Ah, thanks."

"Good luck, though. Some of us even had trouble, and we know the Gym Leader already!"

"All right," Gin forced, faking a smile as she turned to leave.

She instantly scowled again as soon as she closed the door behind her. Gin walked over the dirt path, taking a turn and walking straight north like she'd been told; however, she doubted she would have missed the gym anyway. After just a few moments of walking, she saw a large building on the northern edge of town, with a stilted platform holding it over the edge of a lake. It was wooden just like all the other buildings in town, but like Ecruteak's gym, it resembled a temple.

Frowning as she walked towards it, Gin couldn't help thinking that the gym's locations couldn't be quite safe—a strong enough attack could easily knock it into the lake, or so she thought. However, she sighed and opened the door, listening to it creak as she stepped inside.

"Hello?"

Her voice echoed slightly around the room. It was mostly empty except for a small altar in the back of the room, adorned with statues of Dragon-Type Pokémon (two Dragonites and a Dragonair). A woman with a black cape and a long blue ponytail was standing in front of the altar, and she turned around as Gin entered.

"Oh," she said, her voice slightly condescending. "Are you here for a gym challenge?"

"Um, yes." _Duh._ "I take it you're the Gym Leader?"

"Of course. My name is Clair," she introduced. "I'll go on and tell you know, I train Dragon-Types, like most people in this town do. Do you think you know why I chose Dragons?"

"Well, it's because they're known for strength, and they have a fair number of resistances," Gin replied, stopping herself before she added the phrase, 'And so you can brag about them.'

"Well, I see you aren't clueless. Would you like a two-on-two fight, or would you prefer a double battle?"

Gin frowned slightly before she replied. She'd never had a double battle, and she didn't care to have her first one against a trainer she'd never fought before.

"I'll take a two-on-two."

"…Fine."

Clair took a Pokéball off of her belt and quickly released a Dragonair. Gin snorted slightly as she reached for a Pokéball of her own; Dragonair was wearing the same cocky look as its trainer. The gray-haired girl then released Midnight, remembering that dragons were weak against Ice attacks.

"Okay, Midnight, use Ice Punch!"

"Hmph. Counter with Wrap, Dragonair."

Midnight nodded at Gin and darted forward, ice crystals forming on her claws. She lashed out at Dragonair, and it cried out in surprise as small ice patches formed on its skin. However, it managed to reach out with the end of its tail and grab Midnight, binding her tightly as it lifted her up into the air.

"Perfect… Now use Flamethrower."

Gin felt her eye twitch. "Ugh—hurry, use Ice Beam!"

Midnight tried to twist out of Dragonair's grip as she blew a ray of ice from her mouth. The Dragon-Type easily shot the Flamethrower from its mouth, and the two attacks collided. Dragonair's Flamethrower melted most of the Ice Beam away, and a few of the embers still hit Midnight. The Sneasel yelped as the attack hit her, and Dragonair proceeded to release its grip on her and toss her across the room.

Crashing to the floor with a thud, Midnight tried to wobble to her feet. Before she could stand all the way up, however, Dragonair launched another Flamethrower at her. The singed Pokémon tumbled back down, fainted.

"Well…" Gin recalled Midnight, feeling her eye twitch again. "That didn't go too smoothly… Maybe Gemma will work."

She reached for the Cloyster's Pokéball, and he materialized next to her with a grin. Dragonair, however, still looked smugly calm.

"Gemma, use Ice Beam!"

"Thunderbolt, Dragonair."

Gin groaned; Dragonair just _had_ to have a counter to _everything_… Gemma did manage to hit it with his Ice Beam, but Dragonair had slithered partially out of the way. Only the lower half of its body was frozen, and it leaned forward as sparks flew from its horn.

"Withdraw, Gemma, hurry!"

"Cloy!"

Gemma started to close his shell, but he was just a bit too slow. The Thunderbolt still got to him, and he fell to the floor with a crash. For a moment, Gin was merely surprised that the heavy Pokémon hadn't broken the floor, but then she realized he'd fainted.

"Ha! See? I told you Dragons were powerful."

Clair smirked as Gin recalled Gemma, and the gray-haired girl remained stonily silent. The Gym Leader shrugged at Gin's silence, but still looked annoyingly superior.

"Hmm. Don't feel too bad… You were only poorly matched up."

"Don't rub it in." Gin rolled her eyes and turned back towards the door. "Besides… Now that I know what to expect, I may do better tomorrow."

"You can hope, anyway."

Gin indignantly opened the door, not bothering to wave as she left the building. Her lips turned downward for what felt like the hundredth time that day, and she decided that rest would definitely help as well. Heading back to the Pokémon Center, Gin crossed her arms and didn't give the gym a single backwards glance.


	42. Chapter Forty One: Vs Kingdra!

_Author's Note_: So, Gin finally gets a sixth Pokémon now. And remember that fun test Clair makes you do? Yep, I'm including that. Not the free Dratini, though.

**Chapter Forty One: Vs Kingdra!**

"Ugh. Losing wears me out."

Gin grumbled to herself as she entered Blackthorne's Pokémon Center again. Fortunately, the trainers from earlier had all left the lobby, and Gin was slightly relieved as she walked up to the counter. The nurse hurriedly took Gin's Pokémon, looking like she was in a rush as she ducked into the room behind the counter.

Sighing, Gin slowly walked towards the cafeteria, hoping that they were still serving food this late at night. The serving bars did still have a bit of food on them, luckily, and despite the fact that she had just eaten before going to the gym, Gin was famished. She took another sandwich and sat down; most of the tables were empty, and there was only one other trainer in the room, so Gin could eat in silence.

She ate quickly and stood up to throw her plate away a few minutes later. Gin frowned, stretching as she walked out of the cafeteria and towards the common room. As she took one of the provided sleeping bags and rolled it out in the surprisingly crowded sleeping area, she sincerely hoped that sleep deprivation was the only reason she'd done so poorly in her battle earlier.

"Whatever." Gin snorted as she crawled into her sleeping bag. "At least I know what one of her Pokémon is."

With that, she squeezed her eyes closed and forced herself to go to sleep.

* * *

Gin sighed and rolled over the next morning as she woke up. It was a bit later than she normally got up, but it was still pretty early; there were just a few rays of light poking through the common room's windows.

"Early start, good," she yawned.

After crawling out of the raggedy gray sleeping bag, Gin rolled it up and turned it in to the collection box in the front of the room, sidestepping several sleeping trainers on the way. She then walked down the hallway to the lobby and turned towards the cafeteria. Snagging a piece of toast from the breakfast line, Gin promptly turned back around, eating as she left the room.

The gray-haired girl sighed as she walked towards the Center's door, swallowing her last bite of toast. As she walked outside, she hoped the gym would be open this early. Taking a few steps away from the building, Gin randomly took one of her Pokéballs off of her belt and tossed it from hand to hand.

She paused, however, as a shadow flew over her head. The Pokéball suddenly rose up out of her hand, and Gin scowled as she tried to reach for it. Looking up, she saw a metallic bird Pokémon flying towards the southern end of town—a Skarmory. Frown deepening, Gin opened the Pokéball, and as Magnesia formed next to her, she suddenly realized what had happened.

Before she could recall the Magneton, however, the magnets on its sides pointed towards Skarmory, and it stuck to Skarmory's side with a clinking noise. Startled, Skarmory screeched and slowed down, lowering itself to the ground. It tilted its head and saw Magnesia trying to pull itself away, and the Flying-Type blinked.

Gin sighed and put her head in her hands. A moment later, however, she had an idea.

"Magnesia, use Thunderbolt!"

Magnesia buzzed as it released the electricity from its magnets. Skarmory let out another surprised screech as the electricity crackled over it, and then it stumbled weakly. Smirking, Gin immediately reached for a spare Pokéball and tossed it towards Skarmory. As the ball clicked shut, Magnesia shook itself and managed to float away from it.

"Heh. Not bad."

Gin's smirk widened, and she recalled Magnesia and leaned forward to pick up Skarmory's Pokéball—she'd need to go back to the Pokémon Center one more time before heading to the gym. At least now she had a plan…

* * *

"Clair!"

Gin didn't bother knocking as she arrived at Blackthorne's gym several minutes later. Fortunately, the blue-haired Leader was already there, kneeling in front of the altar like she had been the previous day. She rose to her feet and dusted herself off, looking slightly indignant.

"Back already?"

"Of course," Gin snorted. "And were you praying just now or something?"

"Well, yes," Clair replied, off-handedly. "You really are ignorant, aren't you? Dragon Pokémon are considered sacred around here."

"Oh, right." Gin crossed her fingers behind her back. "Anyway, can we get started now?"

"Well, I suppose if you really want to lose again, I can let you…"

With that taunt, Clair reached for one of her Pokéballs and released Dragonair again. Gin immediately released Skarmory, and he frowned but nodded at her. Clair smirked, putting her hand on her hip.

"I think you remember that Dragonair can easily counter that, right? Anyway… Use Thunderbolt!"

The Steel-Type shrieked in objection as Dragonair started to shoot sparks out of its horn. However, Gin merely crossed her arms over her chest, already knowing what to do.

"Hey… Gladius… Use Fly, okay?"

He blinked at the sudden nickname, but quickly rose up into the air. The Thunderbolt merely hit the floor, causing a small char mark. Then, Gladius dove down towards Dragonair, striking it with his beak. Dragonair cried out as it tumbled backwards, and Gladius had a rather triumphant look on his face as his clawed feet hit the floor.

"Good… Now use Steel Wing!"

Gladius's wings glinted and hardened, and he slashed forward at Dragonair. Several long cuts appeared on its body, and Dragonair panted and set its head down. Scowling, Clair recalled Dragonair and reached for her other Pokéball.

"Hmph. I probably should have expected that… But are you ready for Kingdra?"

A large, blue Pokémon that resembled a seahorse materialized in front of Clair. It calmly looked over at Gin and Gladius, but Gladius quickly raised his wings in response.

"Whatever. Gladius, just use Steel Wing again."

"Ice Beam, Kingdra," Claire replied disinterestedly.

Just as Gladius's wings started to glint again, Kingdra shot a ray of ice out of its mouth. Soon, the Skarmory was frozen solid, and Gin felt her eye twitch.

"Fine, then," she grunted, withdrawing Gladius and pausing before releasing a new Pokémon. "Come on, Magnesia!"

The Magneton buzzed as it appeared next Gin. Kingdra, like Clair, still looked annoyingly calm, though.

"Dragonbreath, Kingdra."

"Magnesia, use Thunderbolt!"

Kingdra shot the spark-like breath towards Magnesia as electricity discharged from its magnets. The two attacks collided in midair, causing both Gin and Clair to scowl. Magnesia and Kingdra attempted to repeat their attacks a couple more times, but with unfortunately similar results each time.

"Wait a minute… Then switch to Zap Cannon."

Magnesia beeped in agreement, pausing as Kingdra used another Dragonbreath. It then drifted out of the way just in time and retaliated by launching a large ball of electricity from its top screw. Kingdra didn't have time to dodge, as it had just finished using Ice Beam, and was hit dead-on. Flying backwards, Kingdra crashed to the floor and just barely managed to get back up, still sparking slightly.

"Ah… Kingdra, use Ice Beam! Hurry!"

"Heh. Use Thunderbolt one more time, Magnesia!"

Kingdra tried to shoot out another Ice Beam, but it only managed to form a small, weak ray of ice that missed Magnesia completely. The Steel-Type easily countered by discharging more electricity from its magnets. It easily hit Kingdra, and the Dragon-Type once again fell to the floor. This time, it didn't get back up, and Clair's eyes widened as she withdrew it.

"N-No way! This never happens… I refuse to believe it!"

Gin folded her arms over her chest after recalling Magnesia. "Don't you think you're taking this just a bit poorly?"

"I… I just don't think you're ready to go on, is all," Clair replied, her arrogant attitude immediately returning.

"What are you talking about?" Gin demanded.

"Hmph. I need to see what manner of trainer you are. Meet me in the shrine across the lake, and be there in no more than ten minutes!"

Clair quickly turned and walked out of the gym, slamming the door behind her. Gin frowned and glared at the door before walking out herself.

* * *

"Ugh…"

Gin grumbled to herself as she stepped onto the tiny patch of land and withdrew Gemma. She'd swam across the surprisingly large lake with help from the Cloyster, and she was soaked. Sighing, she ducked into the cave-like entrance, stopping abruptly and blinking.

She was standing inside a small stone cave lit with torches. A stone altar similar to Clair's was in the back of the room. The Gym Leader herself was standing off to the side of the altar, and an elderly man who also sported a cape was standing in front of it.

"Ah, hello. You must be the trainer my granddaughter was telling me about," he said, smiling slightly. "She says she wants you to take our test."

"Test?" Gin repeated dubiously.

"Yes, it's a test that everyone in our Dragon clan has to take," Clair explained smugly.

"All right, fine," Gin sighed.

"It is just a five question quiz, so please answer honestly," Clair's grandfather began. "First… What do Pokémon mean to you?"

Gin blinked; the question wasn't hard, but it had thrown her off-guard. "Allies, I guess."

"Not a bad answer, I suppose… Second question: What helps you win battles?"

"Well… Extra training. Maybe a bit of luck…"

"Fine. Third question: What kind of trainers do you like to battle?"

"Anyone, really. Any battle will help us improve."

"I see. Fourth question: What is most important for raising Pokémon?"

Gin paused again, and the man looked at her patiently as she finally answered. "Patience, although I'm not that great at that yet."

"Good. Now, the final question: Are strong or weak Pokémon more important?"

"Either one," Gin replied easily. "I mean, everything has to start somewhere, right?"

The clan-leader smiled at Gin again, and then turned to Clair. Her eyes widened once more as her grandfather spoke.

"Gin, I see nothing wrong with this trainer's answers. Why didn't you reward him with a Rising Badge before?"

Gin raised an eyebrow. _I guess even they're fooled by the disguise…_

"I… But Grandfather! Not even I have passed!"

"What?" Gin managed to stifle a snicker, but just barely. "And you made me take it?"

"Clair, I feel that he has passed because his answers ring with honesty, even if he seems a bit rough around the edges. Now please give him the badge."

Sulkily, Clair reached into her pocket and pulled out a dragon-shaped badge. Gin smirked slightly as she clipped it to the inside of her jacket with her seven others.

"Ah, I see you have eight badges now," Clair's grandfather observed.

"Yes, I admit you are ready for the Pokémon League challenge," Clair sighed. "The League is northeast of New Bark Town, in case you didn't know. It's an extra series of tough battlers for experienced trainers."

"I knew that already, actually. Hardly anyone can beat all five of them, but if you do, you're a member of the League," Gin added. "Anyway, I'm off, then."

"Good luck!"

"Yeah… Good luck…"

Gin grinned and waved over her shoulder as Clair reluctantly wished her luck. The League, as challenging as it sounded, seemed like it would be quite fun, and she was looking forward to it.


	43. Chapter Forty Two: Vs Skarmory!

_Author's Note_: So… Gin's taking the "quick way" back to New Bark Town. And Kin and Suishou get to come back, yay.

Oh, and… I lied. Reyson's coming back this chapter too, but it's only a brief cameo.

**Chapter Forty Two: Vs Skarmory!**

Gin yawned as she walked into Blackthorne's Pokémon Center. As much as she wanted to hurry on to New Bark Town, it was later than she'd thought, and she'd realized it would be better to wait until the next day.

After handing her Pokémon to the nurse, Gin stretched and walked into the Center's cafeteria. The line was, unfortunately, fairly long, and she had to wait a while before she got the chance to grab her food. Gin took a small bowl of salad and sat down at one of the few remaining empty tables, eating quickly.

Yawning again, Gin stood up and threw away the red plastic bowl. As she walked back towards the lobby, her shoulder collided with someone else's, and she immediately glared at the offending trainer.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Who are you telling to watch it—hey, don't I know you?"

The gray-haired girl frowned as the brunette folded his arms over his khaki vest. She then groaned as she recognized him.

"Hey, you're that Harrison guy, right?"

"My name's Reyson!" he protested.

"Yeah, whatever. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Well, um…" Reyson scratched the back of his neck. "I just lost to the Gym Leader. Again."

Gin folded her arms. "I beat her earlier today. Piece of cake."

"H-Huh? I don't believe you!"

"It's true," Gin droned, ducking around Reyson. "Now, if you don't mind, you're rather loud and I want to go to sleep."

"Wait, what?" Reyson protested. "Come back and say that again!"

"Whatever."

Folding her hands behind her head, Gin ignored Reyson's sputtering as she continued walking away. It was way too late for this…

* * *

The next morning, Gin sighed as she crawled out of her sleeping bag. The common room had been crowded, like the cafeteria had been the night before. At least she'd woken up early, as usual, so she wouldn't have to wait so long for breakfast.

Of course, she also had to sidestep quite a few sleeping trainers in order to turn in her sleeping breath. Gin frowned when she finally made it out of the common room, shaking her head as she walked to the cafeteria.

The room was virtually empty, besides a couple of trainers at one of the back tables. After grabbing a biscuit from the serving bar, Gin ate her breakfast on the way back to the lobby. Dusting a few crumbs off of her jacket, Gin quickly opened the Center's door and headed outside.

Taking Gladius's Pokéball off of her belt, Gin released the Skarmory. The Steel-Type stretched his wings slightly as he materialized next to her, and then he cocked his head as he looked at her.

"Hey, Gladius. Would you mind flying me down to New Bark Town? It's not too far south from here."

Gladius looked like he was thinking for a moment, but then he nodded and knelt down slightly. Gin easily slung her legs over his back, and a few seconds later, she was hanging onto his neck. He then stood up and spread his wings, and a slight gust blew Gin's hair back as he lifted into the air. Leaning forward, Gladius sped up, and Gin grinned.

_I could get used to this…_

* * *

"Skar!"

Gladius cried out as he carefully avoided a tree and lowered himself to the ground. It wasn't surprising that he'd almost missed it; the route between Blackthorne and New Bark Town had been mostly rocky, after all. Gin sighed as she slid off of his back, but forced a smile when she recalled him.

She then pulled her Pokégear out of her pocket and double-checked the map function. Fortunately, it looked like New Bark was just a short distance to the east. Putting the device back in her pocket, she grinned and started walking quickly.

After dodging a few more trees, Gin arrived in the vaguely familiar, small town. The picturesque houses actually seemed normal compared to the buildings in some of the other towns she'd been to recently. Gin snorted and kept walking, wondering if it was a good idea to head on to the Pokémon League or wait until the next day; she remembered from the map that it was actually farther from New Bark than she'd originally thought.

"Hey! You!"

Gin felt her eye twitch as she heard another familiar voice. Turning around, she spotted the distinctly worn-down lab of Professor Elm in the distance, and Kin and Suishou had just exited it.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you, you know… be getting some badges or something?"

Kin scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, well… I was going to do that. But apparently, the lab got pretty bad while Suishou was away, so…"

"Kin decided to stay and help!" Suishou finished brightly.

"Oh, how nice," Gin replied, raising an eyebrow.

"A-Anyway! What are _you _doing here?" Kin demanded.

"I'm just stopping by on the way to the Pokémon League."

"The League?" Kin grinned. "Did you know that the trainers you fight there are called the Elite Four?"

"I knew about that already."

"How about this? Sometimes, they have this special trainer you can battle called the Champion!"

"I knew about that, too," Gin frowned.

"Well, there goes my chance to feel smart for once…" Kin sighed.

"Um… Hey guys," Suishou cut in nervously. "Let's go inside for a few minutes, okay?"

"Sure, fine," Gin shrugged.

The trio quickly entered the lab, and Gin felt her other eye twitch. The place looked just about as messy as the last time she'd been, and she wondered exactly how bad it had been before. And, as usual, Professor Elm was sitting at his desk in the back of the room, typing away on his laptop.

"Hey, Professor!" Suishou called. "We're back!"

"Ah, I'll get started on something for lunch… Oh, Gin, you're here as well?"

"Yeah. I'm just stopping by, though."

"She's going to go to the Pokémon League!" Suishou explained excitedly.

"Really?" Elm looked impressed. "Well, why don't you just stay here and rest for today. Then you can get started nice and early for tomorrow."

_Do I have to…?_ Gin sighed. "I guess you have a point."

"Wow, you're actually agreeing with someone for once?" Kin smirked.

"Shut up."

Professor Elm smiled nervously as he turned towards the stairs. "All right then… I'll just come get you all when lunch is ready."

The steps creaked slightly as he walked up them. However, a few seconds later, he turned back around, grinning sheepishly.

"Suishou? I forgot where the ramen is now."

"In the box marked 'Extra printing paper' in the closet next to the bathroom."

"Right, thanks."

Gin sighed. This was going to be a long day…


	44. Chapter Forty Three: Vs Golbat!

_Author's Notes_: It's almost time for Gin to face the Elite Four… This chapter's pretty fun, if a bit short.

**Chapter Forty Three: Vs Golbat!**

"This is annoying."

"Then why did you want to come?"

"Well, if I'd _known_ that it was going to be annoying, then I wouldn't have…"

Gin scowled as she listened to Kin grumble under his breath. She, Kin, and Suishou had left Professor Elm's lab early that morning after having stayed there the night before. After the slightly singed Ramen noodles for both lunch and dinner, Suishou's slightly lumpy bunk bed, and the five-minute adventure to find the one box of cereal for breakfast, the winding paths of Route 26 seemed like a relief to Gin.

Evidently, Kin did not agree with her.

"We're almost there, though, right?" Suishou spoke up.

Grumbling, Gin pulled her Pokégear out of her pocket and selected the map feature. A flashing mark showed their location; they were nearing the end of the route. Gin forced a smile as she put the device back in her pocket.

"…Yeah. Apparently, there's a short tunnel coming up soon, and then we should be to the League."

The gray-haired girl tried to tune out Kin's muttering as she pushed through a bit of shrubbery. As they continued walking, Kin fortunately tapered into silence, folding his arms over his chest. After several moments of quiet walking, Gin spotted a rocky slope rising in front of them with a rather narrow entrance.

"I-Is that it, Gin?" Suishou asked nervously.

"Yep. Let's get moving."

They had to duck through the cave's opening single file in order to enter, and the inside of the tunnel was noticeably colder then the route they'd just been on. Suishou started to shiver slightly, despite his long sleeves, but Kin looked perfectly fine.

"Don't worry, kiddo, we won't be in here for too long," Gin yawned, trying to walk quickly.

"All right…"

"Hey! Wait for me!"

Kin scrambled to keep up with the other two, and Gin rolled her eyes. However, she paused when she heard the dark-haired boy shriek.

"I just tripped on something," he mumbled, face reddening.

"Serves you right. And don't yell like that, you might attract—"

A whooshing noise suddenly sounded near their heads, and Gin looked up to see a particularly large Golbat hovering near them with an irritated look on its face. Sighing, Gin reached for Midnight's Pokéball, releasing the Sneasel.

"Ice Punch, Midnight."

"Snea!"

Nodding, Midnight darted forward as ice crystals formed on her claws. She lashed out and struck the Flying-Type, and it screeched as small patches of ice formed on its body. It sank through the air a bit and then flew away, now looking insulted.

Frowning, Gin recalled Midnight. "Like I was about to say… You might attract wild Pokémon."

"My bad," Kin replied grudgingly.

"Um, l-let's go, guys," Suishou cut in again, trying to ward off the argument.

"The kid's right. Let's hurry up."

Kin scowled as he once again found himself scrambling after Gin and Suishou. Sure, he was used to Gin lecturing him by now, but it still bugged him…

* * *

"Whew. Finally…"

Gin breathed a sigh of relief as she squeezed the expectedly-narrow cave exit. While they hadn't run into any more Pokémon, and there weren't any branched paths in the cave, the tunnel had still been rather winding. Suishou and Kin stumbled out after her several seconds later, panting to catch their breaths.

After looking over her shoulder for a moment, Gin stretched and started walking again. The path ahead of them was paved, surprisingly, and lined by trees. A large, brick building surrounded by an iron gate was a few feet ahead of them, and its whitewashed door was surrounded by an equally white patio, a white awning, and columns.

"This looks like some kind of elite club or something," Kin commented, blinking.

"That's because it kind of is. Were you expecting an arena or something?"

"Well, no, but… never mind."

Gin rolled her eyes as Kin trailed off. When she reached the door, she turned eagerly opened it, and she heard Kin and Suishou gasp as they stepped inside.

They had just entered a large, carpeted lobby with several large, leather couches. There were several hallways branching off from the room, and there was a staircase in the back. Several well-dressed people were conversing quietly on the couches, and black-suited attendants floated around the area.

One of the attendants, a small, nervous-looking man, scurried over to the trio. "E-Excuse me, how may I help you?"

"I'm here for the Pokémon League Tournament," Gin explained haughtily.

"Fine, sir, please follow me."

Kin snickered as they followed the man, but he promptly stopped when Gin glowered at him. They arrived in a small room off to the left of the lobby that was barely bigger than a closet. The attendant pulled out a clipboard with several forms attached to it.

"I-I'll need you to fill one of these out."

Bored, Gin pulled a pen out of her pocket and filled out the stereotypical forum sections; name, age, hometown, Pokémon team… She quickly handed it back to the man, and he took it carefully.

"Thank you. If you wish, there are a few rooms you may stay in, or you may visit the practice gym. I shall give this to our Elite Four today, and they should be ready for you tomorrow."

_I have to wait __**another**__ day?_ Gin sighed. "Fine. Thanks."

The attendant nodded and quickly exited the room. Blinking after him, Gin ducked out as well, beckoning to the two boys.

"I'm going to find this gym thing he's talking about."

"I'll fight you!" Kin offered, grinning confidently.

"No, that's all right. I'm sure my Pokémon would be better off fighting each other."

Kin sputtered indignantly, but Gin merely smirked as she tried to find the correct hallway.

* * *

"Eh, I'm tired."

Gin flopped onto one of the queen-sized beds in the guest room that she, Kin, and Suishou were in. They'd been in the training gym for the past few hours, a large room resembling a dojo, and Gin was ready to call it quits. She'd paired up her Pokémon into groups of two (Midnight and Umbra, Theriolt and Magnesia, and Gladius and Gemma, respectively).

Kin had been glaring jealously at her the whole time, but had eventually gone off to challenge Suishou. The redhead had, predictably, beat Kin with the help of his newly evolved Golem and Bellossom, causing Kin to be even more upset.

Now they were about to go to sleep, and fortunately the room had three different beds in it. Kin was sprawled out on his stomach on his bed, mumbling something into his pillow.

"Um, Kin, we can't really hear you…" Suishou trailed off.

Kin rolled his eyes as he raised his head slightly. "I said, what is this place supposed to be, anyway?"

"Some elite battling club, evidently, Gin shrugged. "Obviously, a bunch of rich trainers hang out here and fight each other, and they call their best ones the Elite Four."

"I knew there was an Elite Four, but seriously. I didn't think they were going to be a bunch of rich snobs."

"Just shut up and go to sleep."

Gin irritably flicked the light switch off—it was conveniently next to her bed—and squeezed her eyes shut. As she tried to fall asleep, she ignored Kin's quiet complaints and instead focused on the trainers she'd be fighting the next day.


	45. Chapter Forty Four: Vs Xatu!

_Author's Note_: And now it's time for the Elite Four run… Will's up first, and yes, I changed Slowbro into Slowking. The Gym Leaders and Elite Four really needed more Johto Pokémon on their teams…

**Chapter Forty Four: Vs Xatu!**

"Hey. Get up already."

Kin squeezed his eyes tighter closed, curling up in a ball as his covers were (quite rudely) pulled away from him. Grumbling, he eventually sat up, blinking blearily at Gin and Suishou. Gin had her arms folded over her chest rather impatiently.

"We ate a long time ago and we're waiting on you."

"The battles aren't gonna start soon, are they…?" Kin yawned.

"Um, yeah, they are," Suishou answered sheepishly.

"We've only been trying to wake you up forever." Gin snorted, turning back towards their room's door. "Now come on."

Suishou grinned apologetically as he hurried after Gin. Sighing, Kin untangled himself from his sheets, staggering slightly as he followed them out.

* * *

"This place just gets fancier and fancier."

Kin groaned, folding his arms as he and Suishou sat down. They were currently sitting in a large room that resembled an auditorium. There were several rows of cushioned chairs, as well as a curtained stage. The two boys looked somewhat out of place; the rest of the seats were filled by the League's paid members.

Gin had been swept away by a few of the attendants before Kin and Suishou had entered the room. No doubt she had to go over a bunch of rules and regulations—for once, Kin didn't envy her. Of course, he _did_ wish that he could fight the Elite Four as well, but he'd settle for watching the fights…

"Hey, look! I think they're about to start!"

The black-haired boy blinked as Suishou grinned excitedly. The curtain was starting to rise, and Kin was admittedly getting excited himself…

* * *

"Do you understand the rules, sir?"

Gin managed to bite back a sigh as another one of the attendants bobbed his head at her. Nodding, she bounced back the explanation he'd just given her.

"Three-on-three, no time limit, permission to substitute. There's a ten-minute break in each battle, and this 'Elite Four' is going in a pre-selected order. Anything else?"

"Ah, the Champion, sir. There will be a twenty-minute break before the final battle, provided you make it that far."

"Right," Gin droned.

"Very well. It appears you are ready to begin."

With that, the black-suited man began to pull back the curtain; they'd been standing in the backstage area. The audience clapped politely as Gin followed the man onto the stage. He bowed deeply and cleared his throat as he looked at the gathered spectators.

"Ahem… Good afternoon, everyone! Today, we are having our Elite Four face off against Gin Shinu from Goldenrod City. As you know, many of us are paying members. However, one can also gain membership to the League by defeating the Elite Four. Please wish Gin good luck with the battles…"

The Pokémon League's members applauded briefly again, and after they finished, the attendant continued.

"Our first battler will be Will, our Psychic specialist."

Gin raised an eyebrow as her opponent walked out from the other side of the stage. He had violently red hair and was wearing a crimson shirt and pants and a black vest. The oddest thing about him, though, was the black mask covering the top half of his face. Will bowed deeply when he reached the middle of the stage, and then nodded politely to Gin.

"If you're ready…" Will trailed off.

Gin snorted. "Of course I am."

"Fine. I shall lead with Xatu."

He released a large, green bird Pokémon, and it rocked back and forth for a few seconds before shuffling forward. Gin smirked, reaching for Midnight's Pokéball. The Sneasel materialized next to her, and Midnight blinked curiously at Xatu.

"Don't worry, this'll be easy. Lead with Faint Attack!"

"Drill Peck, Xatu."

Midnight quickly dashed forward, crashing into Xatu before it had a chance to respond. It stumbled slightly, but managed to lean forward again and ram its beak into Midnight. She cried out in surprise as the attack hit her side, recoiling and stepping to the side.

"Try Shadow Ball instead," Gin frowned.

Nodding, Midnight paused to catch her breath. She then raised her claws and formed a large, shadowy sphere between them. Xatu shrieked as the attack hit it and sent it flying backwards. It crashed onto the floor a few seconds later, and despite the fact that it looked extremely weakened, it somehow got back up again.

"Xatu… Use Solar Beam," Will called, sounding a bit more nervous than he must have wanted to.

"Hmph. Just use Ice Beam, Midnight."

Weakly, Xatu tried to shoot a lime-green beam out of its beak. However, the Solar Beam fizzled out after a few seconds, and Xatu winced. Midnight fired her Ice Beam with relative ease, on the other hand, striking Xatu directly and freezing it from the neck down. It toppled over, its body heavy from the ice, clearly unable to keep fighting.

"Hm…" Sighing, Will recalled Xatu and pulled a different Pokéball from his belt. "I suppose I should use Jynx."

A human-shaped Pokémon with long hair materialized next to Will. Gin scowled as she looked at the feminine Psychic-Type; she knew it was half Ice, too, so Midnight couldn't use Ice Beam on it. Suddenly though, Gin grinned, thinking of a new strategy.

"Use Metal Claw!"

Midnight jumped forward obediently as her claws started to shine and harden. She lashed out at Jynx, apparently causing it quite a bit of damage. Staggering backwards, Jynx leaned forward and putting its hands over its stomach where Midnight had hit it. Several seconds later, though, it managed to catch its breath and stand back up.

"…Double Slap, Jynx."

Jynx swayed forward slowly, and Midnight blinked, clearly wondering if Jynx was actually going to do something. Then, Jynx abruptly raised one of its hands and smacked Midnight across the face, causing her to fly backwards. Midnight wobbled to her feet, and Jynx hit her again, causing her to collapse.

"Oh well… At least you did some damage…" Gin frowned as she withdrew Midnight. " I guess Umbra should go next."

Gin took out the Umbreon's Pokéball and released her. Rolling her eyes, Umbra struck a fighting pose as she appeared next to Gin and glared at Jynx.

"Umbra, use Bite!"

Quickly, Umbra leapt at Jynx, sinking her teeth into its arm. Jynx wailed and tried to dislodge her by waving its arm around, but Umbra simply bit down harder. She eventually let go, landing on her feet in a rather cat-like fashion.

"All right, you should be able to finish it with Quick Attack."

While Jynx was still clutching its arm, Umbra dashed towards it. She crashed into its side, causing it to crumple into a heap on the stage floor. As he recalled Jynx, Will's eyes betrayed how nervous he was; he was down to his last Pokémon.

"Come on, Slowking…"

A large, pink Psychic-Type with a crown-like growth on its head stared lazily at Umbra as it materialized from its Pokéball. Slowking yawned and languidly scratched its stomach, and Gin felt her eye twitch.

_H-He saved this for last because…?_ She thought dubiously.

"Whatever," Gin grumbled. "Just use Confuse Ray, Umbra."

"Slowking, try to hit it with Water Gun first!"

Slowking calmly opened its mouth and shot a small stream of water at Umbra. Because it was so slow, Umbra easily jumped out of the way. She then narrowed her eyes, and twin white beams shot out of them.

When the Confuse Ray hit Slowking, it had a dazed look on its face. It turned around in a circle, its feet wobbly, and lurched to the side.

"Great… Now use Shadow Ball and Psychic!"

Umbra formed the Shadow Ball first, her eyes narrowing again as the wispy ball took shape in front of her. As she launched it at Slowking, she backed it up with a Psychic, causing it to fly faster. The combination slammed into Slowking with considerable force, sending it into the air. Slowking bounced across the floor like a skipping stone before landing at Will's feet, already knocked out.

"Please, everyone, show some congratulations for Gin Shinu, our winner for this round!"

The attendant from earlier walked onto the stage as he made his announcement. The audience clapped again, but they sounded excited rather than calm like they had been before. Gin grinned at the applause, and she and Midnight bowed.

Will smiled resignedly as he withdrew Slowking. He held out his hand as he walked over to Gin, and she paused before shaking it.

"Well done."

"Heh, thanks," Gin replied.

"I hope you find your next fight to be a bit more challenging…" Will said, his smile turning into a grin.

"Nah, that was fun. I'm going to go heal—see you later."

Gin waved over her shoulder as she walked off the side of the stage, looking forward to her next match.


	46. Chapter Forty Five: Vs Ariados!

_Author's Note_: And now it's time for the second Elite Four round with Koga. He actually had a fair number of Johto Pokémon on his team, but why the heck he had Forretress was kind of a mystery to me… So he doesn't have it here…

**Chapter Forty Five: Vs Ariados!**

"Gin! Gin! Good job!"

They gray-haired girl smirked as she turned around. She'd just reentered the League's lobby from its healing room, and Suishou and Kin were jogging towards her. Suishou (naturally) had a more excited look on his face than Kin did.

"Heh. It was easy."

"Well, it was only the first match," Kin pointed out sulkily.

"Whatever. Way to rain on the parade," Gin snorted. "Anyway, I only have a few minutes, so I'm getting back into the auditorium."

Shrugging, Gin stepped around Kin and walked towards the appropriate red-carpeted hallway. Kin sighed and folded his arms.

"I guess we should go, too…"

"Yeah, we need good seats again!"

Kin's frown deepened as he followed the redhead, trying to figure out where Suishou got his boundless enthusiasm from.

* * *

"Ah, welcome back to our second round!"

Gin had arrived back on the stage just in time. Another of the League attendants had given her a rather irked look before addressing the members in the audience. The assembly clapped politely again, and the black-suited man went on.

"This time, Gin shall try to fight Koga, our Poison-specialist."

A lanky man in a green ninja-like outfit and scarf strode onto the stage, folding his arms over his chest. Gin quirked an eyebrow, but didn't comment on his attire.

"Now, if the battlers are ready, the fight will begin!"

"Of course."

Koga spoke quietly as he took a Pokéball off of his belt. Then, he wordlessly released a large, spider-like Pokémon—an Ariados.

Gin smirked as she reached for a Pokéball of her own. "This'll be easy. Go, Gladius!"

The Skarmory spread his wings as he materialized next to Gin, but Koga didn't even flinch. He evidently didn't care that he was at a major typing disadvantage… Either that or he had some kind of a plan, Gin realized with a scowl.

_Hmm… I'll just stay at a distance and I'll be fine_, Gin decided. "Gladius, use Swift!"

"Spider Web, Ariados."

Gladius quickly opened his beak and shot several star-shaped blasts of energy at the Poison-Type. Ariados winced as the attack hit it, but it managed to regain its stance. Raising its abdomen slightly, Ariados started shooting a fine thread out of its rear needle, and in a matter of seconds, a dome-shaped web surrounded it and Gladius.

"Now… Double Team and Signal Beam."

Gin glared as she watched Ariados start to make doubles of itself. Normally, a Signal Beam would be no big deal, but not if multiple attacks were all being shot at the same time… As the Ariados squad started to fire the rainbow-colored beams from their forehead needles, Gin suddenly had an idea.

"Give them an Air Cutter!"

Catching on to Gin's plan, Gladius nodded and flapped his wings, forming several blade-shaped gusts. The attack slashed forward, a few blades striking the web and a few of them striking the Ariadoses. As the spider web was torn apart, the Ariados clones faded and the real Ariados hissed in pain.

"All right, not bad! Now finish with Drill Peck."

Gladius raised himself into the air slightly, and then flew towards Ariados. As he dove down at it, he gained some momentum, causing his beak to ram into it harder than normal. Ariados skidded backwards, and then collapsed at Koga's feet in a heap.

Koga merely frowned as he recalled Ariados and reached for a new Pokéball. His silence was starting to irritate Gin as he released his second Pokémon. A fairly large Crobat now hovered next to him, leering at Gladius.

"Okay, Gladius, use Steel Wing!"

Gladius's wings glinted as he lifted into the air again. He sped towards Crobat with his wings outstretched and slashed at it, causing it to shriek and flutter backwards. For a moment, it looked like Crobat was about to faint, but it managed to pull itself back into the air.

"Hmm… Hidden Power will do."

Crobat closed its eyes, and a yellow aura surrounded it. Then, static suddenly exploded in the air around it, causing huge sparks to fly towards Gladius. Unfortunately, he was too surprised to react in time, and the electricity hit him dead-on. Crying out in surprise, Gladius skidded backwards.

"Hyper Beam should finish Skarmory."

Taking a deep breath, Crobat opened its mouth and shot a large, bright white beam at the Steel-Type. Still weak from the Hidden Power, Gladius couldn't dodge the Hyper Beam and it hit him directly. His legs folded, and he panted as his wings flopped down as well.

"At least you got some damage on it… Come on back, Gladius."

Gin sighed as she withdrew him and reached for another Pokéball. At least now she'd have an energy advantage on Crobat, and she realized another type advantage she'd be able to have.

"Come on, Magnesia!"

The Magneton beeped mechanically as it appeared next to Gin. Koga still didn't look fazed at all, but he had to be faking his nonchalant appearance.

"Let's go with Thunderbolt," Gin called, smirking.

Buzzing, Magnesia started to form static in between its magnets. Crobat looked considerably more nervous than its trainer did about the electricity, but it was clearly still tired from using Hyper Beam. Magnesia easily managed to hit it with the Thunderbolt. A bit singed, Crobat spun through the air and fell to the floor, and was unable to get back up.

Once again, Koga was silent as he recalled his Pokémon. He reached for his last Pokéball, releasing a small Venomoth. The moth flapped its thin wings nervously, flitting around in agitation. Gin quirked an eyebrow at its odd actions, but figured that at least Venomoth would be fairly easy to knock out.

"Venomoth, use Sleep Powder."

Gin folded her arms. "Quickly, Magnesia, use Substitute!"

The Bug-Type flapped its wings even faster than it had been before, and a fine blue powder floated off of them. Before the spores could reach Magnesia, however, one of the Steel-Type's screws buzzed and flashed. A translucent copy of Magnesia appeared in front of Venomoth, absorbing the Sleep Powder.

"All right, now go with Lock On and Zap Canon!"

Magnesia floated upwards slightly, and a target-like ray of energy shot out of it and towards Venomoth. Next, its magnets and screws simultaneously started crackling with electricity. A huge blast of sparks was launched at Venomoth, and the moth was still smoking as it crashed to the floor. It tried and failed several times to fly back upwards, but it was too weak and its attempts apparently tired it out further. Falling back to the floor, Venomoth closed its eyes.

Koga finally showed some emotion as he withdrew Venomoth, even if it was just a small frown. As the audience started another round of polite applause for Gin, the ninja-like man merely turned around and walked off stage. Gin rolled her eyes, but bowed for the crowd anyway.

"Thank you for your support, everyone! Gin is now allowed another ten-minute break before the next match," another attendant cried out.

As the skinny man nodded to her, Gin walked off the stage satisfactorily, ready to heal her Pokémon and prepare for her third round. She walked towards the auditorium's exit with her usual smirk, but paused and blinked before opening the door. Shaking her head, she hurriedly walked out of the room.

For a moment, Gin thought that she'd seen someone else that she knew in the audience besides Kin and Suishou. She'd quickly banished that thought, deciding that her excitement was just making her see things.


	47. Chapter Forty Six: Vs Hitmonchan!

_Author's Note_: You know, it's cool and all that Bruno ditched one Onix for a Hitmontop between RBY and GSC… But how come all of the other original Elite Four members were kicked out? (Lance notwithstanding, of course, given that he evidently resigned and then owned everybody just for fun.) Anyway… I seriously just now realized that all of Gin's Pokémon besides Gladius are week to Fighting-Types. Blah.

**Chapter Forty Six: Vs Hitmonchan!**

"Gin? Are you okay?"

"What? Humph. I'm fine."

Once again, Kin and Suishou had met Gin outside of the League's healing facility. Gin had her arms folded over her chest, and Suishou was looking at her with a rather concerned expression on his face. The redhead blinked, but Kin just rolled his eyes.

"Like she'd tell us, anyway."

"Exactly." Standing up, Gin brushed off her jacket's sleeves and started walking away. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm heading back to the auditorium."

Kin felt his jaw drop as he watched Gin leave the room. Sighing, he shook his head and folded his arms crossly.

"How come I can never get a straight answer out of her?"

"M-Maybe it has something to do with how you ask it…" Suishou trailed off.

"Yeah, maybe. Whatever… We should go back, too."

Nodding, Suishou followed after Kin as the taller boy started trudging out of the room.

* * *

"You never entered the League, did you?"

"No. I didn't really care."

"And you still don't."

"I know."

"Well? It doesn't bother you at all? That the little runaway is starting to show more potential than you ever did?"

"…Coming from someone who recently _paid_ admission to the League, I take it that's a compliment for her."

Kuro shifted in his seat, folding his arms and tuning out his grandmother's voice as she started tittering at him. Mizu made no effort to stop Umi from reprimanding Kuro, and the black-haired boy merely tugged at his battered red coat as he waited for the curtain to rise again.

* * *

"All right, everyone… We thank you for your support so far as we move on to our third round."

One of the League attendants bowed as the audience gave the usual round of courteous applause. Gin admittedly yawned as the man began to speak again.

"This match will be between Gin and our Fighting-Type enthusiast, Bruno."

As a large man wearing a Karate-style uniform walked onto the stage, Gin frowned. Perfect… While it was true that she'd beaten Chuck fairly easily, Fighting Pokémon at a higher level would be difficult for most of her own team to defeat…

"Huh. You're the scrawniest challenger I've had in a while," Bruno grunted, idly taking a Pokéball off of his belt.

Gin bristled at the comment—she wasn't exactly short, after all. "And you're the rudest challenger _I've_ had in a while."

"Well, the kid's got spirit. Let's see how this goes, Hitmonchan!"

Bruno pressed the release button on his Pokéball, and a human-shaped Pokémon with bright red boxing gloves materialized next to him. It rubbed a bit off dust off of the gloves and then rammed its fists together, leering confidently. Snorting, Gin reached for a Pokéball of her own and released Gladius.

_At least this way I won't be at a complete disadvantage…_ she thought.

"All right, Hitmonchan, give Skarmory a Mach Punch!"

"Gladius, use Fly."

Hitmonchan raised a gloved fist as it streamlined itself and darted towards Gladius. However, Gladius managed to lift into the air just in time to dodge. He then dove back down, crashing into Hitmonchan and causing it to stumble backwards. The Fighting-Type staggered back to its feet, however.

"All right, Gladius, give it a Drill Peck."

"Counter with Thunder Punch!"

Gin winced as Bruno called out his attack, but it was too late for her to do anything; Gladius was already diving towards Hitmonchan. He rammed his beak into it, and although Hitmonchan had clearly been weakened a lot by the attack, it still managed to respond. As Hitmonchan swung its fist at Gladius, sparks formed around the glove, and Gladius shrieked as he winced.

"Gladius, step back and use Air Cutter."

The Steel-Type shuffled backwards and raised his wings. As he started to beat them, blade-like blasts of winds formed and launched towards Hitmonchan. Once again, it stumbled to the side, but this time it collapsed in a heap.

Grunting in frustration, Bruno recalled his Pokémon and reached for a new Pokéball. He released a brown, slightly-less-human-shaped Pokémon with elastic-looking legs that glared at Gladius.

"Hitmonlee, use Mega Kick!"

Hitmonlee swung out its leg surprisingly quickly, stretching the spring-like limb far enough to kick Gladius from where it was standing. Gladius slid backwards, mostly out of surprise. Gin sighed, trying to think of a comeback.

"Try Swift, okay, Gladius?"

"Hitmonlee, use Rolling Kick."

Opening his beak, Gladius shot several star-shaped blasts of energy at Hitmonlee. It easily avoided the attack, though, by curling up into a ball and rolling forward. Then, when it got close enough to the Skarmory, Hitmonlee extended its leg and kicked him again with increased force and momentum from rolling. Giving out a weak cry, Gladius toppled over, fainting.

Gin sighed as she withdrew Gladius; she really didn't know what to use next… After a moment, she figured she'd use Gemma, since she hadn't battled with him for a while. The Cloyster materialized next to her as she released him, grinning impishly.

"Hmm. You're giving me a type advantage," Bruno commented, smirking. "I'm not complaining, though… Hitmonlee, use Jump Kick!"

"Ice Beam, Gemma."

Hitmonlee bent its knees, preparing to leap into the air. Before it could, however, Gemma launched a ray of ice out of his horn. The Fighting-Type was completely coated in a layer of ice, and it toppled over, looking like a statue.

"Nice trick," Bruno grumbled, recalling Hitmonlee. "But I've still got one left…"

The large man released a rather strange-looking Pokémon for his finale. It balanced upside-down on its head with the aid of a horn, and most of its body, including its hands and tail, were rounded. Gin raised an eyebrow; she really shouldn't be doubting anything, especially in a type disadvantage, but the thing looked ridiculous.

"Triple Kick, Hitmontop!"

_Just great_, Gin frowned, watching Hitmontop spin forward like a spinning top, its legs spinning wildly. Suddenly, she remembered her battle with Pryce, and a perfect idea formed in her head.

"Wait a second and then use Explosion, Gemma!"

"Cloy!"

Nodding (as well as a Cloyster could nod, anyway), Gemma paused while Hitmontop spun closer. He then started to glow, and a blast of energy exploded around him, striking Hitmontop at full power. Both Pokémon fell to the floor of the stage, knocked out.

"Well! With that surprising ending, it looks like Gin is technically the winner!"

As an attendant called the ending, the audience clapped again. Gin smirked and bowed as she recalled Gemma, and Bruno resignedly withdrew Hitmontop. He then shook Gin's hand and gave her a slap on the back.

"Good job, kid. I wasn't expecting that at all!"

"Heh. That was the point," Gin replied. "It was a fun battle, I guess. Or at least tense, anyway."

"You got that right. Hope your next match will be interesting to watch!"

"You bet it will."

Waving over her shoulder, Gin walked off the stage, ready to heal her Pokémon and move on to the next round. As excited as she was, she still couldn't shake off the feeling that she was being watched. Shaking her head, Gin left the auditorium, trying to simply hurry on to the provided Pokémon Center.


	48. Chapter Forty Seven: Murkrow!

_Author's Note_: And now, here's Karen, who is probably my favorite Johto Elite Four member. Plus Gin gets to use Theriolt again…

**Chapter Forty Seven: Vs Murkrow!**

"Wow, Gin! You're already to the fourth round…"

Suishou looked slightly out of breath when he caught up to Gin outside the healing room, as if he and Kin had been jogging the whole time. In response, Gin rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"What's up with you guys?"

"Well, um…" Suishou looked sheepish. "I… I just thought I saw someone who looked like your brother… So I tried to catch up to him, but I couldn't."

Gin blinked; she'd almost forgotten that Kuro and Suishou had met once in Goldenrod City. However, she then shook her head.

"That's stupid. Kuro wouldn't come out here for this. Even if he wasn't lazy, it would be too much of a coincidence."

With that, Gin strode around the two boys and headed back towards the auditorium. Kin blinked at her retreating back, and then at Suishou. The redhead looked apologetic as Kin sulked.

"I didn't know she had a brother. Does she not like him or something?"

"No, I don't think so… I think they just act like that," Suishou replied thoughtfully. "Anyway, we better get back too. Let's go!"

Sighing, Kin followed Suishou back to the auditorium, still feeling a bit confused.

* * *

"Again, I thank you all for coming to watch another round! This is our fourth match, and Gin will fight against Karen."

As an attendant addressed the crowd, Gin folded her arms. She was honestly getting a bit tired of going through the explanations, even if the applause was nice. Moments later, the audience quieted down as a silver-haired woman in a black, short-skirted dress strode onto the stage.

"Karen is our Dark-Type specialist," the attendant continued. "Now, whenever they are both ready, our battlers may begin."

Gin immediately reached for a Pokéball, but paused and quirked an eyebrow when she saw the look on Karen's face. The woman had a rather analytical look on her face, but than she gave a brief-half smile.

"It is nothing. I was merely hoping that just because you seem strong, you will not get full of yourself," she said rather formally. "Let us start."

Karen took a Pokéball of her own out of her pocket, and released a black bird Pokémon—a Murkrow. Shrugging, Gin smirked and reached for Magnesia's Pokéball. The Magneton buzzed as it blinked at Murkrow, and the Dark-Type looked calmly back at it.

"Lead with Swift, Magnesia," Gin called.

"Murkrow, use Faint Attack."

Magnesia launched several star-shaped blasts of energy out of its magnets. A few of them managed to hit Murkrow, but the bird Pokémon managed to fly out of the way of the full attack. It then flew forward almost too quickly too be seen and crashed into Magnesia, catching it by surprise. As Murkrow landed back on the stage carefully, Magnesia tumbled through the air and struggled to regain its balance.

Gin frowned. "Magnesia, give it a Thunderbolt!"

Pulling itself back together, Magnesia started to form static between its magnets. Then, the electricity quickly burst towards Murkrow, and this time the attack hit it directly. Murkrow squawked as it was sent flying, and then crashed back to the floor in front of Karen. It started to get back up, but Magnesia promptly launched another Thunderbolt, causing Murkrow to collapse again.

"Hmm… A fairly good start," Karen commented as she withdrew her Pokémon. "How will you do against Houndoom?"

Gin groaned as Karen released the Dark-and-Fire-Type dog. Kuro had both a Houndoom and a Murkrow, so although Gin had a bit of experience with both Pokémon, she was now at a disadvantage…

"Houndoom, use Flamethrower."

"Quick, Magnesia, use Protect!"

Houndoom snarled as it opened its mouth and released a stream of flames. Right before the attack reached Magnesia, the Magneton surrounded itself with a pale silver aura. The Flamethrower merely evaporated as it hit the protective barrier, and Houndoom looked irritated.

"…Try again, Houndoom."

Gin clenched her teeth as embers started to form around Houndoom's mouth; she knew she wouldn't be able to rely on Protect forever. There was only one other thing that she could think of doing, even if it was risky…

"Use Thunderbolt again!"

Magnesia launched the attack from its magnets once more. When the electricity collided with the flames, a small explosion resulted. When the smoke cleared, both Pokémon were lying unconscious on the stage, slightly singed.

Gin frowned but Karen looked calm as they simultaneously withdrew their Pokémon. Pausing, Gin decided to see what Karen sent out before choosing a counter. The pale woman, still calm, released her third and final Pokémon—an Umbreon.

"Ironic," Gin muttered. "Oh well… Come on, Theriolt!"

Taking the Scizor's Pokéball off of her belt, she promptly released him. Theriolt flexed his claws and grinned as he looked at the Dark-Type. If Karen was nervous about the type disadvantage, she concealed it fairly well.

"Umbreon, please lead with Faint Attack."

"Fury Cutter, Theriolt."

Umbreon narrowed its eyes as it leapt towards Theriolt. It didn't have a chance to crash into him, though, as Theriolt countered by slashing forward. His claws struck Umbreon's side, and as it cried out and fell backwards, Theriolt repeated the attack several times in quick succession. As Theriolt finally jumped backwards, Umbreon panted and struggled to its feet.

"All right, you should be able to finish it with Silver Wind now."

Theriolt rapidly fluttered his thin wings, forming a silvery gust of powder. As the wind attack forcefully hit Umbreon, the Pokémon skidded backwards and landed next to Karen's feet. For a moment, it tried to get back up, but then it toppled over again.

"Well, everyone! It looks like Gin has defeated our Elite Four!"

The attendant stepped back onto the stage as Karen withdrew Umbreon. As usual, the audience began to clap, but their applause was much more enthusiastic. When they quieted down, the black-suited man cleared his throat.

"As you all know, normally beating the Elite Four grants one membership to the Pokémon League if one does not wish to pay. However… In this case, things are slightly different."

Gin and Theriolt exchanged irritated looks. The attendant didn't seem to notice this as he went on.

"This year, we have an extra trainer for any challengers to face… The last trainer who entered the league through battling offered to be the fifth in our line up. In twenty minutes, Gin will go on to face our Champion!"

As the audience applauded again, Gin groaned and withdrew Theriolt. Of course, she finally remembered that another attendant had told her about the Champion before she'd started the battles… But she still felt a bit cheated out of a League membership.

"Oh well… I better go heal…"

Grumbling to herself, Gin shuffled off the stage and headed out of the auditorium again. However, before she opened the door to the lobby, she paused and blinked. She could have sworn that, for a split second, she actually had seen Kuro… Gin shook her head and exited the room, convincing herself that Suishou had been wrong and that she had more important things to worry about.


	49. Chapter Forty Eight: Vs Aerodactyl!

_Author's Note_: I got an interesting review last chapter asking if Kuro was the Champion. Now I'm kind of thinking that it would have been cool, but Kuro never went on to the League, so the Champion is still Lance. You'll see why Kuro's here soon (as in next chapter), though. And, you know, it was kind of cool that Charizard could learn Dragonbreath in GSC—too bad he can't in the advance generations.

**Chapter Forty Eight: Vs Aerodactyl!**

"Hey, Gin!"

"You don't look too happy about this."

Kin blinked as he and Suishou caught up to Gin outside the healing room. The gray-haired girl was clipping her Pokéballs back onto her belt with a frown on her face. Scowl deepening, she looked up at the two boys as she folded her arms over her chest.

"That's because I'm _not_ happy about this. Ever since I finished my last fight, I've had this paranoid feeling."

"Really?" Suishou blinked. "But… why?"

"Well, if I knew why, then I probably wouldn't be feeling paranoid in the first place," Gin pointed out impatiently. "Anyway… I'm getting back to the stage before I start having misgivings about this."

Then, as usual, she pushed past Kin and Suishou and walked towards the auditorium's double doors. Confused, Kin looked down at Suishou, shaking his head.

"How come the better she does, the harder she is to understand?"

"I… I don't know…" Suishou sighed. "Let's just make sure we get good seats again."

Shrugging, Kin followed the shorter boy back to the auditorium, admittedly a bit curious to see who the Champion would be.

* * *

"Well, everyone, it's time for our fifth round! Gin will now fight our current Champion."

Surprisingly, the League members looked somber this time, and there was less applause. Gin's lips twitched downwards, wondering what was going on. Sure, if she won this round, she'd be admitted into the League, but was it really that serious?

"All right…" the attendant cleared his throat. "I'm sure you've all had the chance to meet out Champion at least once… You know about his extensive training history and his ties to the legendary Dragon Clan of Blackthorne City. Here is Lance!"

Gin looked up interestedly as the red-haired, cape-wearing man strode calmly onto the stage. She was sure she'd seen him somewhere before… He nodded to her as he stopped in front of her, proving her theory.

"We've met before, right?"

"Yes… It was in Mahogany Town," he confirmed. "It's nice to see that you've made quite a bit of progress since then."

"You know, you could have mentioned this Champion thing a bit sooner. Like maybe a few months ago," Gin grumbled.

"Well, I suppose that would have taken the surprise out of everything, wouldn't it? Now, whenever you're ready, I'd like to see if you and your Pokémon trust each other enough to defeat me and earn League membership."

"Any time," Gin smirked, putting a hand on her hip.

"Fine. I will lead with Aerodactyl, then."

Lance released the fossilized dragon, and the Rock-Type leered down at Gin. Rolling her eyes, Gin quickly reached for a Pokéball of her own. Gemma would be perfect for this fight…

"Come on, Gemma."

The Cloyster materialized next to Gin, wearing his usual smirk. Aerodactyl looked unfazed, but Lance seemed to notice the type disadvantage—he winced, but only for a moment. As the red-haired man regained his calm look, Gin suddenly realized that she was at a slight disadvantage as well with Gemma being an Ice-Type…

"Begin with Rock Slide, please, Aerodactyl."

"Gemma, give it an Ice Beam!"

Aerodactyl flapped its wings, and several large boulders formed around it. Then, it launched the Rock Slide towards Gemma with a gust of wind, and the attack hit the bivalve Pokémon directly. Fortunately, Gemma managed to turn to the side at the last second, and his large shell blocked most of the rocks.

A few seconds later, however, he shuddered slightly; apparently, one of the smaller rocks had still managed to hit him in the face. Gin frowned for a minute, but Gemma still managed to fire an Ice Beam from his horn. Ice coated Aerodactyl's wings, and it shrieked as it sank down to the stage, now too heavy to fly. It clearly wasn't ready to faint yet, but it had also obviously taken a lot of damage.

"Aerodactyl, try using Hyper Beam."

"Withdraw and Water Pulse, Gemma," Gin countered, grinning.

Opening its jaws, Aerodactyl formed a bright white beam of light and shot the Hyper Beam at Gemma. This time, Gemma fully withdrew into his shell instead of simply trying to dodge. While he was sent skidding, he emerged from his shell a several moments later looking completely unharmed. The Cloyster proceeded to blast a circular wave of water at Aerodactyl, and it tumbled backwards as the Water Pulse hit it. Aerodactyl tried to raise itself back to its feet, but it collapsed again and didn't get back up.

"Impressive," Lance commented, withdrawing Aerodactyl. "I shall test you with Charizard next."

As Lance released the Fire-Type, Gin raised an eyebrow. How was giving her a type advantage testing her? Unless Lance had some kind of secret plan, defeating Charizard would be ridiculously easy.

"Huh. Just use Water Pulse again, Gemma."

"Dragonbreath, Charizard."

As Gemma started to shoot out another Water Pulse, Charizard simultaneously launched a Dragon Breath. The two attacks collided in the air, and the spark-like breath hitting the water caused a small bang. Frowning, Gemma and Charizard tried to repeat their attacks several times but to much the same effect.

However, after several failed attempts, Charizard seemed to have an idea. It paused for a moment after Gemma repeated Water Pulse, and after he was finished attacking, Charizard leaned to the side and used Dragonbreath again. It then lifted into the air just in time to avoid the water attack, and its attack hit the surprised Cloyster before he had the chance to close his shell.

After Gemma flew backwards, he crashed to the stage with a thump. Gin frowned, but Gemma fortunately managed to get back up. Charizard looked disdainfully at Gemma as it launched another Dragonbreath, this time successfully knocking it out.

"Well… At least you probably tired it out a bit, Gemma," Gin sighed, recalling him. "But what am I supposed to do now?"

She paused, carefully going over her team. None of her Pokémon would have a specific advantage on Charizard, other than Magnesia who was also ironically weak against it. Midnight and Theriolt would also have trouble… Gin immediately had an idea as she thought of the Sneasel and decided to take a risk.

"Come on, Midnight!"

As she materialized next to Gin, Midnight looked up at her curiously after seeing Charizard. Lance looked confused as well, and Charizard appeared to be smirking. Gin shrugged and grinned casually, though.

"Don't worry, I have a plan. Use Ice Beam…" Gin's voice dropped to a whisper. "…and aim for its wings."

"Sel!" Midnight nodded.

"Hmm… Flamethrower, Charizard."

The fire dragon quickly breathed a stream of flames at Midnight. She fortunately managed to dodge just in time, and then narrowed her eyes as she shot two small rays of ice from her mouth. The twin Ice Beams hit Charizard's wings, and it roared as the ice spread over them. Charizard wilted slightly, its now heavy wings weighing it down.

"All right, now use Faint Attack and Slash!"

Midnight dashed forward almost too quickly too be seen, and Charizard was too surprised to dodge as she collided with it. It stumbled backwards slowly as Midnight proceeded to raise her claws. As she slashed down at it, several claw marks formed on its skin, and Charizard toppled over. The sound of the ice shattering off of its wings echoed around the stage as it fainted.

"Very impressive indeed," Lance reiterated as he resignedly withdrew Charizard. "But you know my final Pokémon… You know not to take Dragonite lightly, yes?"

He released the large, orange Dragon-Type, and while it didn't look smug like Charizard had, Dragonite still towered over Midnight. The Dark-Type still appeared to be calm, however.

"All right… Icy Wind, Midnight!"

"Dragonite, use Iron Tail."

Midnight closed her eyes and raised her claws, and the air around her started to chill. Before she could fully form the attack, however, Dragonite's tail started to harden and glitter. Dragonite quickly spun around and struck Midnight with the appendage, causing her to fly backwards. She landed on the stage, and Gin winced for a moment as she hoped that Midnight hadn't fainted already. Several seconds later, Midnight slowly managed to pull herself to her feet, and Gin sighed in relief.

"Give it a Blizzard this time, all right?"

Nodding, Midnight panted as she closed her eyes. She raised her claws and twirled around, snow crystals forming around her. The Blizzard spun forward like a twister, engulfing Dragonite and creating a solid block of ice around it. Lance looked surprised for a moment, but then smiled as he recalled Dragonite.

"Congratulations, Gin. You're now officially a member of the League!" he praised.

The audience began to applaud thunderously, and rose from their seats one by one. Gin and Midnight bowed, grinning. As they stood back up, Lance walked over to her, and then turned back to the other League members.

"Everyone… I have just a few words to say. It is my pleasure to have met Gin before, even though our first meeting was a bit stressful. However, despite some rash actions on her part back then, I still noticed her potential, and it is my honor to say that she is even stronger now than she was then."

Again, the audience gave a round of applause and sank into their seats. Lance turned back to Gin, shaking her hand after she withdrew Midnight, and Gin smirked.

"Well, I guess I have to hang out with a bunch of rich battle club members starting now, huh?"

Lance chuckled. "Oh, no. League membership is a rather honorary thing, and you can decide how you want to use your title. It's not like we're asking you to take over my position as Champion or anything."

"So… It's just kind of an in-title-only thing?"

"That's a bit blunt, but I suppose so," Lance replied. "Our League is quite a bit more relaxed than Hoenn's and Kanto's. You know what our battles are like now; we don't even really have formal tournaments."

"All right. That's a relief, then." Gin started to walk away, but then paused. "Of course, expect me to drop back for battles with the other members sometimes. I'd like the challenge."

The red-haired man smiled again. "Certainly. Good luck to you, Gin, wherever you go."

"Thanks. Really."

Gin waved over her shoulder as she strode off stage. She definitely didn't want to go back home, despite the fact that she could showcase her League membership to her grandparents… As she headed back to the auditorium's doors to wait for Kin and Suishou, she gave the first genuine smile that she had in years.

Somehow, travelling around with the them seemed appealing, even if Kin tried her nerves and Suishou was too naïve for his own good. The two were better family to her than most of her blood relatives… And at the moment, her victory seemed slightly less important than the two boys.


	50. Chapter Forty Nine: Vs Sneasel II!

_Author's Note_: Unlike in Hoenn Adventures, this isn't the epilogue yet… The epilogue should be up next week, and this is relatively short but very important.

**Chapter Forty Nine: Vs Sneasel II!**

"I'm never going to get used to calling you a League member!"

"Then don't. It's just a formality anyway."

Gin sighed and folded her arms over her chest as Kin blinked. Suishou and Midnight, whom Gin had let out of her Pokéball, looked rather confused as well. The four were currently in the League's lobby; they'd spent the previous night in one of the building's hotel rooms and were finally preparing to leave.

"But Gin…" Suishou said quietly. "Aren't you glad that you won all those battles?"

"Sure, I guess. It's just that I don't have any real plans now," the gray-haired girl frowned.

She quickly stood up from the couch she'd been sitting on and started walking towards the crowded lobby's door. Midnight, Kin, and Suishou blinked at each other again and reluctantly followed after her. Darting ahead slightly, Midnight carefully tapped Gin on the knee.

"What is it, Midnight?"

"Sel…"

The normally mild Dark-Type had a nervous look on her face as she raised her other claw. Gin squinted, but couldn't see anything. Looking equally confused, Kin and Suishou followed after her as she pushed through the other passing League members. They stumbled, however, when Gin came to a sudden halt.

"No. Oh, no. I am not seeing this."

Gin was muttering wildly under her breath, and Midnight darted behind her legs nervously. The two boys exchanged glances again, but then noticed what had Gin so agitated. An elderly couple and a tall, thin black-haired boy were wandering towards the exit as well, and had apparently noticed Gin as well.

"Oh, Gin, darling! I have to say you did spectacularly up there," the woman gushed.

"Indeed you did," the man agreed.

"Umi, Mizu… What are you doing here?" Gin growled. "And how did you get Kuro out of the house, anyway?"

"Oh, that is no way to greet us, is it?" Umi had an obviously feigned indignant look on her face. "We merely want to congratulate you! Oh, and there's your father's Sneasel—it's grown so much, too!"

"_Midnight_ is a _she_," Gin snapped. "And why are you so supportive all of a sudden? You never cared about what I did unless it differed from what you wanted, and now you say you're proud of me? Is it that I wasn't good enough for you until now?"

"That is simply not true, is it, Umi?"

"Of course not, Mizu, dear. As League members ourselves, we merely wish to offer you some praise!"

"Now I really want to leave." Narrowing her eyes, Gin cracked her knuckles. "All this time, you've never let me do a single thing, and you've never liked me. But now that you've found out that I'm good at something, you want me back? Well, too bad. I'm not buying that!"

"Why, Gin, you insult us so!" Umi's sigh was rather overdramatic. "As I said—"

"You've really said nothing, though. I'm never going back to that house!" Gin's eyes flashed dangerously. "In fact, I've just come to a conclusion. I'm staying with Suishou!"

Kin and especially Suishou looked as surprised as Mizu, Umi, and Kuro did, but for an entirely different reason. It had been one of the few times that Gin had actually referred to the redhead by name instead of by "kid" or "kiddo." Furthermore, her voice actually sounded sincere instead of sarcastic.

"But Gin…!" Umi recoiled. "You'd stay with a little child like this that you barely know instead of us?"

"I do not '_barely know_' him. And Suishou is more of a family to me than you, Mizu, and Father all combined."

"Gin…"

Suddenly, Kuro stepped forward, and he put his hands on her shoulders. Gin glared and tried to step backwards, but found that her legs weren't cooperating.

"I could have told you this would happen back when we met in Goldenrod."

"Sh-Shut up!" Gin protested weakly. "It's none of your business, Kuro!"

"But it's all of my business." Kuro smirked lightly, but his steel-gray eyes softened. "What about me?"

"Huh?"

Gin finally ducked away from Kuro and took a step towards Midnight, Kin, and Suishou. The three had remained surprisingly silent the whole time, and for once Gin wished that Kin would start babbling. Anything would help her stall for time at the moment…

"Look, Kuro! You know I can't stand it with them. I don't know how _you_ put up with everything! And besides… Even if you're lazy, you'll always be my brother."

"All right, then." Kuro ran his hand through his bangs. "You're really better now than you used to be… And _you'll_ always be _my_ sister. So don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"You said that before," Gin replied, her voice turning a bit cool. "But… I know. Come on, Kin, Suishou."

She recalled Midnight and started walking towards the lobby's ornate front door. Kin and Suishou followed her, looking rather confused. However, moments later, Umi's shriek of protest rang out over the room.

"Gin! You can't just walk away after all of this! You ungrateful runaway!"

The gray-haired girl smirked as she pushed the door open, and didn't bother turning around—she only spoke loudly enough for the two boys to hear her, anyway.

"So she can accurately describe me now. Big deal… It's not like I would have gone back anyway, even if she did want me."

Sighing, she paused after taking a few steps away from the large League building and turned to face the other two trainers. Kin looked rather confused, as if he was still trying to process everything that had just happened. On the other hand, Suishou looked a bit embarrassed.

"Um, Gin…" he said shyly. "Did you really mean what you said earlier? You know… About wanting to stay with me…"

Gin blinked, startled. "Of course I meant it. Why else would I say that?"

"Well, you do have a tendency of speaking before thinking," Kin snickered.

"You're one to talk." Gin rolled her eyes. "Now come on. I want to go home, and you know what? Overcooked Ramen noodles actually would be pretty good right about now."


	51. Epilogue: Vs Corsola II!

_Author's Note_: I've come to the end of this fic so soon after completing Hoenn Adventures. I can't believe it's been over a year already since I started this fic… Much thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially Parrot-San and SH313!

Anyway… This is more dramatic than Hoenn Adventure's epilogue. I hope you remember Ai from way back in Chapter Three; I didn't just randomly include her for no reason! And I'm kind of thinking that this makes Gin and Suishou rather "official."

**Epilogue: Vs Corsola II!**

"I never thought I'd be glad to see this place."

Grinning resignedly, Gin folded her hands behind her head as she and Suishou approached Professor Elm's run-down lab. The pair had just arrived back in New Bark Town along with Kin, but the black-haired boy had decided to go on back to his house, which was a short walk from the research facility. Gin and Suishou, however, were currently opening the lab's door, and Suishou looked rather relieved as well.

"Yeah!" the redhead smiled. "I bet Professor Elm will be glad, too."

Gin nodded as Suishou opened the rickety door. When they walked inside, they had to dodge a few stray books, but otherwise the lab was shockingly clean. Admittedly, Gin was a bit surprised, and Suishou also seemed confused.

"Professor Elm?" he called.

They took several more steps, and, after passing a few rows of shelves, were almost in the back room. Professor Elm was standing inside with his back turned to them, evidently talking to someone. An unfamiliar female's voice was vaguely audible, and the professor was shifting somewhat nervously.

"Oh? Do look, Elm, you have company."

The young man looked relieved as he turned around and saw Gin and Suishou. He scratched the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly.

"Ah, h-hello, Gin and Suishou! So how were your League battles, Gin?"

"Not bad," Gin breezed. "Anyway… Who's here?"

"A-A friend of mine from a while ago."

Abruptly, Elm looked uncharacteristically embarrassed, and he stepped aside so that Gin and Suishou could see the woman. She had a rather forced smile on her pale face, and her long, wavy blonde hair cascaded down the back of her purple jacket and stopped just above her pink skirt. Suishou promptly looked away as well, a blush spreading across his face.

"Hello, darlings," she said loftily. "Suishou… It's so lovely to see you again."

Suishou blinked down at the floor. For a moment, as Gin looked between the two, she felt a knot in her stomach, reminded of Umi for a second. She then shook her head and turned back to Elm.

"You didn't introduce her," she intoned flatly.

"Ai Koi… Suishou's mother…"

The redhead chewed his lower lip nervously as Gin raised an eyebrow and folded her arms at the revelation. He certainly _looked_ like the woman despite the difference in hair color, but they also were clearly polar opposites personality-wise.

"Well… Why is she here?" Gin prompted. "Suishou only mentioned her a few times, after all."

"How rude," Ai replied, a sickly sweet smile on her face. "I was only stopping by to have Elm check on my Espeon before I leave again!"

"And I suppose you couldn't say that you were dropping by to see Suishou."

"Of course not. I'm not a liar… I never really wanted him in the first place."

Dead silence filled the lab, and the scene would have been comical under any other circumstances. Ai was finally smiling sincerely, and Elm and Suishou's mouths were hanging open in shock. Gin glared and shook her head; the situation was starting to get to her.

"No _mother_ says a thing like that," she snapped. "If you don't want him, then I'll take him!"

"Oh, really?" Ai leered. "And you're much more responsible than I am? Well, you can have him... He's all yours. It's about time I left, anyway… I took a leave of absence from work just so I could tour the Hoenn League, so I may as well make the most of my time."

With that, Ai tossed a pink-and-purple Pokéball into the air, releasing her Espeon. The cat-like Psychic Type had a prim look on its face as it rubbed its head against Ai's leg. Its eyes then glowed, and the two shimmered and vanished.

Elm sighed and sank down into his desk chair, staring at the place where Ai had been standing. Suishou covered his face with his hands a moment later, stifling a sniffle. Clenching her teeth, Gin stepped between the two and faced Elm.

"Hey. It _is_ all right for me to stay, isn't it? Or would you two rather sit around and mope for a little while?"

Elm looked surprised; he'd obviously not been expecting Gin's offer, even with her comment to Ai. Suishou looked at Gin through his fingers, a very small smile crossing his face.

"O-Of course you can. It's just, as you know, a bit messy… Although I certainly could use extra help. Suishou is quite organized, but he can't do everything around here."

"I don't think anyone could," Gin cracked, grinning as Elm chuckled. "Now, come on, Suishou. We should probably start with that second floor."

"Okay!"

Suishou broke into a grin as well, eagerly following the gray-haired girl up the stairs. As he watched them go upstairs, Elm gave a relieved sigh—both at the fact that Ai was gone and at Suishou's abrupt enthusiasm.

* * *

"So this goes… here…"

Suishou clipped a final sheet into one of Professor Elm's many binders and closed it, smiling in satisfaction. He and Gin had just finished organizing a file involving Elm's most recent project on fossilized Pokémon (Suishou's Omastar, Oman, had been cited numerous times). However, Suishou's eyes were starting to droop, and Gin couldn't blame him; taking care of Elm's messy reports was more tiring work than it appeared to be.

"So—la!"

Coro crawled out from under Suishou's bed and nudged the redhead's leg. He shook his head at her, yawning.

"Coro… please… I'm busy right now."

"Cor," she pouted, slowly trudging away.

Gin sighed, admittedly stifling a yawn herself. "She's spoiled."

Suishou giggled, albeit tiredly. "Yeah… I guess she is."

Suddenly, he toppled forward, his face landing on the binder for an uncomfortable pillow; his slow breathing indicated that he was asleep. Giving a small half-smile, Gin stretched and then laid down on the floor as well—between coming back from the League, meeting Ai, and trying to organize even a small number of reports, it had been a long day.

Outside the bedroom's door, Coro's watery laugh echoed in the hallway, and it was fortunate for her that both trainers were heavy sleepers.

* * *

"Hey! Professor Elm!"

Kin skidded to a halt in front of Professor Elm's lab, catching his breath as he opened the door. The professor looked up from his laptop in surprise as Kin entered, and Kin scratched the back of his neck.

"Sorry. But I was hoping I could drop by for a few minutes…"

"To see Gin and Suishou, yes? I'm sure they'd appreciate it, but I think they're—"

"Okay, great! I'll go upstairs!"

"—a bit worn out."

Elm pressed his lips together as Kin darted up the stairs. The boy obviously hadn't heard anything past 'I'm sure they'd appreciate it'… And knowing Suishou, he'd probably be asleep—the redhead never stayed up very late, after all.

"I suppose Kin can't hurt anything… Too badly, at least."

After giving himself the lukewarm comfort, Elm turned back to his laptop resignedly as Kin's pounding footsteps tapered off.

When Kin arrived on the second floor, his first instinct was to check Suishou's bedroom. Fortunately, he was correct… And yet he couldn't help blinking and gasping in surprise.

"H-huh?"

Suishou was sprawled out on his floor, his head resting on a binder, and Gin was curled up cat-like in a ball beside him. The normally talkative Kin found himself gaping at the two in silence, and decided to sit down at the doorway as he waited for them to wake up.

* * *

Coro nudged the door open with one of her horns, giving another watery giggle. Kin had somehow managed to spread himself out on the floor next to Gin and Suishou, and there was barely enough room for the three of them. Furthermore, Gin had at some point unconsciously draped her arm over Suishou's back—and although the room was small, it wasn't so small that Gin had had to shift to make space for Kin.

Grinning mischievously, Coro turned out of Suishou's bedroom again. Even if Gin didn't remember the gesture when she woke up, she'd still be sure to fall asleep in a similar fashion again later, and in the event that Suishou woke up before her, he'd appreciate it.

And the impish Corsola could always tease the two about it later on.


End file.
